A Joint Vow
by softlysharp
Summary: The day of Vector and Espio's wedding, things end up horribly wrong. The Chaotix trio, along with help from Cream and Vanilla, need to hurry and fix their mistakes just in time for the wedding, and make it as good as possible. Vecpio slash, sequel to A Joint Venture. Co-Written with TheHunterPersian
1. The Question

**(AN: Whoa it's weird and fun to get back into writing Vecpio after such a long time. I really enjoyed contributing to this collab and seeing my writing style's improvement over where I was at with the original,** _ **A Joint Venture**_ **. It's been a blast so far and I'm looking forward to writing more of this! Working with thehunterpersian has been great, he's a good pal and awesome to toss ideas back and forth with.**

 **As a side note, this is gonna be the last fic that I post under this handle. I've had this username since high school, been vastly immature with it (I like to get into arguments on the Internet for some reason), and it's time to move on.**

 **I'm going to make one new account for my slash fiction, and one other account for the stuff that's not slash, as I've been planning a big, adventure-y Sonic fic for some time now. Anyway that's enough about me, I hope you guys and gals enjoy our story. Now, close your eyes for a minute, drop your worries and your cares, your overdue bills and your nagging parents and just place yourselves in a different world for a bit. And when you're done, let us know what you think! Comments are vastly appreciated. Enjoy!**

 **P.S. - Hunter wants to tell me that yes, this is the collab he teased at the end of Transfer.)**

* * *

" _Vector? Are you ready to go?"_

" _Hold on a minute, Espio… I'm just doin' some last minute things… I'll be there in a sec."_

" _Okay, I'll wait for you outside."_

 _Vector could hear Espio's fleeting footsteps leave the Chaotix Detective Agency as he stared at the bathroom door. The crocodile looked himself in the mirror, and then at the small box he held in his hand._

" _It's been a while since I took ya out… but now I think it's time…"_

 _The large green reptile opened the box to reveal a ring. Taking it out, Vector held it close to himself and looked at his reflection in the mirror._

" _I'm gunna propose… I'm gunna propose…"_

 _Vector placed the ring back in the box and shut it, then hiding it under his glove as he made his way out from the bathroom and to Espio._

* * *

 _They walked through the jungles of Little Planet. Espio and Vector, two peas in an odd pod._

 _As they walked through, Espio took special notice of the gorgeous, metallic-looking, glossy spinning flowers that the planet was so well known for. They reminded him of a time in the past where he wasn't himself, so their beauty was bittersweet._

 _They came to a clearing._

 _"I noticed this place when I was here last time." Vector said, almost as if he sensed Espio's train of thought._

 _They sat down for a picnic, and the two reptiles ate away ate the things they brought with them, all while enjoying the sights and sounds of Little Planet._

 _But Vector's mind was elsewhere, trying to think of a way to do what he wanted to do. It was now or never. His heartbeats grew in force with each passing moment._

 _Once the two were done, they began to pack everything up. Vector stopped partway, ostensibly to stretch, but really to spend a few seconds mentally preparing for what he was about to do._

 _He watched Espio's graceful movements, cleaning up the plates and cutlery they'd brought, putting it all into their picnic basket. The chameleon was lithe and agile._

 _Espio paused, looking up at Vector. "What's up, dear?"_

 _Vector froze. He'd planned on Espio being distracted a second or two longer, and he'd planned to speak first. The simple task of talking had suddenly become high-level physics he couldn't comprehend._

 _Vector fumbled, pulled a box out of his glove._

 _"What's this?" Espio asked._

 _The crocodile got back down to the ground, this time on one knee. He cleared his throat with strange difficulty._

 _Espio's eyes widened as he watched, in what felt like slow motion to Vector._

 _"Espio, will ya marry me? It's been a long time comin'." At least his voice was working properly._

 _The chameleon was taken aback. He froze, dropping the cloth he'd been folding._

 _Vector's anxiety ramped as time seemed to stop, waiting for the chameleon's answer._

 _After a moment, Espio replied._

 _"Yes... Yes, of course!"_

 _He nearly tackled Vector with the tightest embrace they'd ever shared._

* * *

 **A FEW MONTHS LATER: ONE DAY BEFORE THE WEDDING**

"I wanna bake the cake."

Espio stopped chewing his cereal and paused. He then proceeded to swallow pointedly. "I support you in all your endeavors."

Vector pouted. "Ya don't trust me!"

"Of course I trust you."

"I dun hear the trust."

"I- There was trust in that sentence. I heard it."

"Charmy, didja hear the trust?"

"Didn't hear the trust." Charmy replied, his bored tone hinting that he'd rather continue playing video games than participate in this conversation.

"Charmy! What did I tell you about taking sides in our arguments?!" Espio yelled.

"Never to take Vector's over yours?"

"N-no... Ha ha, you're very funny… What I told you was not to take ANY side!"

"But _Vector_ doesn't yell at me when I pig out on candy, unlike you!" the bee argued.

Espio sighed, irritated, and turned to Vector. "When he's old and diabetic I'm sure he'll be on Team Espio."

"We'll see," replied Vector, still pouty.

"Dear, I do trust you to make the cake. In fact, I _want_ you to make it." The chameleon tried his damnedest to appear convincing.

"Ya really mean it?"

"Yes."

"Heh, alrighty!" Vector grinned wide. "Ya won't be disappointed, Esp!"

* * *

 **THE NEXT DAY - WEDDING DAY**

"Is that..."

"That's it. That's the cake."

Both reptiles stood dumbstruck.

"It's... it's nice." Espio managed.

"It's not. It's really not."

"Honey, it's not _that_ bad," lied Espio.

Charmy then flew in. "Oh my God! What is _THAT?_ "

The chameleon bit his tongue, his nice words erased by their ersatz son. "The wedding cake."

"It looks like it has leprosy."

"Startlingly accurate," mumbled Vector.

"Where... did you even learn that word?" Espio asked.

"That was a word on my vocabulary quiz last week. I spelled it right!" Charmy remarked proudly.

"A bit morbid for elementary-school English class..."

"We have a bigger problem, Espio," replied Vector.

"You're right. We cannot use this cake."

Vector cringed. "Hey! That sounds mean when ya say it!"

"Give me credit. This is a perfect 'I told you so' moment and I haven't partaken."

"Hmmph!" Vector crossed his arms. Espio kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, anyway. Really."

"I feel hella bad. We need to find a replacement, pronto."

"But where? No bakery is going to have a wedding cake ready quickly, and if they have premade ones, they'll be ridiculously expensive."

"I don't even know where I went wrong in the first place," Vector grumbled. "I guess baking just isn't my thing."

"Seems to me like you mixed up the quantities of certain key ingredients."

"Dammit… I shouldda known I did somethin' wrong… Great, now I went 'n screwed up today… And it was our weddin' too…"

Espio took Vector's right hand into his own. "Don't say that. We can still repair the damage. All we need is to work fast, and we'll get this cake done."

"Easier said than done, Espio. There's only less than three hours 'till the weddin', and we still gotta wait for Vanilla to bring the chairs and tables."

Espio looked at the clock on top of the stove. 11:24 A.M. It seemed that his crocodilian fiancé was telling the truth.

" _But where can we get someone who can work fast? I can make a cake, but I'm not sure if I alone can do it in less than three hours…"_ The chameleon ninja thought. It was then that a lightbulb lit up above his head.

"I have an idea. Vector, come with me. Charmy, you stay here, okay?"

"Roger that, Espio!" Charmy replied, saluting. The two reptiles made their way out of the Chaotix Detective Agency, and soon outside.

* * *

"Oh my… that certainly does sound troubling," Vanilla commented upon hearing Vector and Espio's story.

"Ya'll help us, right Ms. Vanilla?" Vector begged.

"Yes, of course. I can't sit here idly while friends I care about are having an issue," The adult rabbit replied. She got up and grabbed her purse.

"Cream?" She called out.

"Yes, Mommy?" Cream replied.

"Can you come downstairs please? And bring Cheese and Chocola with you!"

A minute later, Cream walked down the stairs with the blue and brown Chao floating above her.

"What's the issue, Mommy?"

"Mr. Vector and Espio are in a very dire situation, and they need our help. Will you be willing to accompany us?" Vanilla asked.

"Of course!" Cream replied, bowing.

"Good. Get yourself dressed quickly, and we'll return to the Chaotix Detective Agency."

Cream nodded as she ran upstairs again. She soon returned with a red dress on, complete with a blue ribbon, and a flower.

"Okay, let's go." said Espio.

"Chao chao!" replied Cheese and Chocola.

The six made their way out of Vanilla's house and back to the Chaotix. No conversations were held between them, all focused on hurrying back as quickly as possible. However, at one point, Cream skipped out in front of Vector and Espio and commented that she was ecstatic that she was going to be the flower girl for the wedding.

"Heh, well, me and Esp knew in our gut it would be ya, Cream," replied Vector.

* * *

Finally, Vector, Espio, Vanilla, Cream, Cheese, and Chocola returned to the Chaotix Detective Agency. As they went inside however, Espio could hear a faint smacking noise.

"What's that?" he questioned as the chameleon walked to the kitchen. Espio froze at what he saw, and placed his hand on his forehead.

"Oh no, no no no no…" Espio repeated.

Charmy was standing over the ruined cake, eating bit by bit. As he moved his head to face the six, it was obvious in his facial features; the bee was having a major sugar rush.

"Oh, dear!" Vanilla cried.

"This could be a problem," remarked Espio.

"Bah, kids get hyper all the time. It'll wear off before the weddin'."

"But we still have to deal with it NOW!" the chameleon explained, a bit anxious.

Espio was right. The dilemma of the wedding cake, so close at hand, was constantly disrupted by Charmy's antics interrupting the conversation.

"Charmy… Charmy! Go say hi to Cream for a moment, while us grownups talk," Vector said.

"Aye aye captain croc! Full speed ahead!" Charmy exclaimed as he made a mad dash towards Cream, almost running into a wall.

"Oh boy," Vector said.

Vanilla looked around the kitchen. "Charmy made such a mess. We'll have to clean that up a bit."

"Actually, most of that mess is Vector's from making the cake," Espio explained.

Vector was taken aback. "That- That mess was all Charmy!"

"I saw the kitchen this morning. Charmy's only additions to the mess are the sprinkles on the floor and those cake bits on the... ceiling."

"So, what's our ingredient situation?" Vanilla inquired.

Espio checked the cupboards. "We've run out of flour, baking soda, eggs, and - sugar? But I just bought some the other day..."

"Yeah, and I used it all," Vector explained. "I wanted a really sweet cake."

Espio smacked his forehead. "Well, now at least we know what went wrong with the first cake. I stocked up EXTRA sugar so that we wouldn't be out of it when the cake was done, because I knew you'd want it for your coffee. All that additional sugar ruined the structural integrity of the cake, and caused it to collapse upon itself."

Vector's mouth formed an O, and he looked down, embarrassed.

Espio said, foot tapping, "We have two tasks at the moment. Getting the items from Vanilla's house, which we were supposed to have ample time for once the cake was to be finished. Add to that the task of remaking the cake!"

Vanilla started to leave the kitchen, long ears trailing behind her. "I'll go pick up the ingredients-"

Vector jumped up and rushed to her. "No no no no no! We have no time! We've gotta start the cake as early as possible, and that stuff will move a lot faster with three adults working. Let's just send the kids to get ingredients."

"I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with those two out on their own in the city, especially with Charmy's current... condition." Vanilla glanced over her shoulder at the bee, who was currently tying a complex knot with all of the wires behind the TV, while Cream watched.

"Relax, Miss, it'll be fine. Cream's gotta good head on her shoulders. She'll keep our Charmy in line, won'tcha, Cream?" Vector shouted the last part toward the living room.

"Yes, Mr. Vector."

"See?" The crocodile grinned unconvincingly. " _Besides,_ it's about time those two started getting' some responsibility. Can't cocoon them in their youthful ignorance forever, now, can we?"

Espio sighed. "I must agree with Vector here; time is of the essence."

Vanilla sighed quietly through her nostrils, considering. "Very well. I hope you two are right about them, and that they'll stay out of trouble."

Vector gave a thumbs-up, tail wagging cutely. "'Course they will. We're all good parents."

Espio briefly remembered the time Vector had lost track of Charmy at an amusement park. The bee had gotten into a cotton candy frenzy and by the end of the day they were both kicked out, after a ferris wheel had become unhinged and nearly caused bodily harm. They both claimed to have had nothing to do with it.

"Yes. All of us are," Espio agreed.

They gathered their belongings; wallets, keys and the like. Vanilla and Espio distributed money to the children.

"You can get something for yourselves, too, if you like," Vanilla said, giving them a bit extra.

The bee and rabbit were ushered out of the small home, as Vanilla, Espio and Vector left, locking the door behind them.

They parted at the front of the house. The parents pointed in the direction of the bakery and told the kids they'd see them soon, turning to head off in the other direction.

When they'd walked down the street a bit, they stopped under a cloudless sky. Charmy revealed a huge chunk of cake he'd been hiding. He offered some to Cream.

"Mommy doesn't like for me to have much sugar..." Cream said.

"But they wouldn't want us to starve out here, would they?"

"Hmm... Maybe you're right." Cream reached for a piece of deformed, sugary failure cake. Eating it as they walked, the rabbit giggled. "I don't see why they couldn't have used this cake at the wedding... it's the sweetest thing I've ever tasted!"

* * *

"Man… this shift couldn't be over any sooner…" The cashier at the bakery said. He checked his watch and tapped his foot, wondering when his break would be.

The door to the bakery soon opened and the bell rang, breaking the cashier out of his trance.

"O-Oh! Hi, welcome to-"

He stopped as he saw Charmy and Cream, wide eyed and jittering intensely with grins on their faces.

"U-Uh… can I help you kids?" he asked. All of sudden, Charmy and Cream zoomed off as the cashier yelped.

"COME ON, COME ON! WE NEED TO GET THE INGREDIENTS!" The bee exclaimed as Cream quickly got hold of a basket and ran to Charmy, catching a few of the shoppers off guard.

"What's on the list, what's on the list?!" Cream excitedly said as she bounced up and down.

"Ok, first, eggs!" Charmy replied as he practically threw a carton of eggs into the basket.

"Wait, wait! Mommy said we always check eggs in case they're cracked!"

Cream frantically opened the carton of eggs and saw that none of them were cracked. In her jitters, however, she dropped one on the floor.

The gasp she let out could have been used as stock audio.

Charmy counseled her. "Relax, relax, it's just one egg! Put the carton back and get a new one – he didn't see."

"B-but, that's like stealing!"

"Not really. You're not taking that egg home with you, are you?"

"Even so..."

"Just imagine it's Eggman on the floor!"

She looked down at it and started giggling hysterically, forgetting why she'd been so upset.

"Ok, that's good. Next one, next one!" Charmy urged.

"Flour, baking soda, and sugar. Ohhh, boy, more sugar!" Cream exclaimed.

The two made a mad dash to the other side, grabbing two large packets of sugar.

"I… I kinda wanna eat it now…" Cream said.

"Y-Yeah… it's so tempting!"

Before he could think of anything else, Charmy had a realization.

"Wait, what flavor did Vector and Espio want the cake to be? The one we had was chocolate flavored!"

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Charmy?"

The bee grinned and nodded as the two children grabbed several packets of cocoa powder, then getting the final two ingredients; flour and baking soda.

Running past several more customers, Charmy and Cream slammed the basket onto the cashier counter as the cashier jumped in shock.

"H-How are you today…?"

Charmy and Cream simply stared at the cashier with wide grins and stars in their eyes. Getting creeped out, the cashier quickly rang up all the ingredients. Cream passed her mother's debit card to the cashier as he quickly bagged everything up.

"Here you kids go… now just… leave…" he said. Charmy and Cream grabbed the bags and quickly skipped out of the bakery.

"BythewayIbrokeaneggSORRYSORRYIneedtogonowbye," Cream shouted behind her as she left, bells jingling as the door slammed behind them.

"I don't get paid enough for this job…" The cashier said, rubbing his eyes.

* * *

As Charmy and Cream fast-walked (or buzzed in Charmy's case) down the street, they passed by a street vendor. Stopping in their tracks, the bee and rabbit took a few steps back and stared at the vendor, looking through everything he sold; from snacks, to beverages, and to magazines. Charmy elbowed Cream and looked at her.

"Do you remember what Ms. Vanilla said? We can get anything extra!" Charmy almost yelled.

"I don't know… should we eat more sugar and snacks than we're supposed to?" Cream replied.

"They won't have to know…" Charmy responded with a mischievous grin. Cream's smile widened as her eyes grew, her first acts of disobedience tasting more saccharine by the minute.

And sure enough, five minutes later, multiple bags of chips and candy bought, Charmy and Cream were ready to return back to the Chaotix Detective Agency. As they walked up the dirt path, Charmy poked Cream.

"Tag. You're it."

Charmy giggled as he buzzed as fast as he could away from Cream. The rabbit smiled and laughed as she chased after the young detective.

She found herself enjoying this newfound freedom, running around with Charmy – she'd never gone out unaccompanied before, nor disobeyed her mother. She didn't exactly want to become a wild child, but caving in to temptation for a little while was nice.

Finding themselves at the front door of the Chaotix, Charmy and Cream took some time to catch their breath from how fast they were running.

"That… sure was something… *huff huff*…" Charmy said. "But still, we're back home, and I think all the sugar I had is pretty much out of my system!"

"Mine too…" Cream replied as she wiped her mouth with a handkerchief she had in her dress pocket, mainly so Vanilla didn't suspect her eating so much sugar while out.

"Okay, you can knock on the door, Charmy. No more evidence."

Charmy knocked on the door, but no reply. He turned the knob and sure enough, it opened.

"Vector? Espio? Ms. Vanilla?" he called out.

"Mommy?" Cream called out. The two placed the ingredients on the kitchen counter as they looked out the window to the backyard, seeing the crocodile, chameleon, and adult rabbit outside, carrying a large table and placing it on the ground.

"There they are!" Charmy exclaimed. He and Cream went through the patio doors into the backyard.

"We're home! And we got all of the ingredients!" The bee exclaimed. Vector turned around and waved.

"That's great!" The crocodile exclaimed.

"It is. Now we can start on the cake," the fuchsia reptile said. A bit farther down the backyard, they saw Vanilla, plus Cheese and Chocola, counting all the chairs that were aligned in a row (five in the left row, and four on the right).

"Nine chairs… that's the correct amount, right?" Vanilla said as she walked over to the Chaotix and her daughter.

"Sure is! Besides you and Cream, we invited Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Big, and Rouge!" Charmy exclaimed.

"Wow, ya memorized the whole guest list?" Vector questioned.

"Yup! And you told me it was a waste of time doing that…"

Espio chuckled and shook his head. "There there, there's no need for arguments now. Time is running out."

"Yer right, and there's still more things to be done. Alrighty, team change: Vanilla, can ya help Espio make the cake inside? Meanwhile, me and the kids are gunna get the rest of the things we still need that's back at yer place. The "carpet for the aisle", tablecloth fer the table we're gunna sit at, not to mention food as well."

"You're right, there's no time to waste. Vanilla, if you would be so kind?" Espio said.

Vanilla nodded her head. "I understand. Kids, be safe okay? Although with Vector, I doubt you need to worry."

She tossed Vector her house keys. He caught them in one hand.

"Okay, Ms. Vanilla!" Charmy said, saluting.

"Bye, Mommy!" Cream said, as she, Vector and Charmy headed to her house for the remaining few supplies, as meanwhile, the adult rabbit and the chameleon headed back inside.


	2. The Race

**Why hello! Unlike last AN, this is the co-author of this fic, TheHunterPersian! I'm glad to see that you all are liking this fic so far, and glad to see Cosmictruffle's revival into the world of Sonic and Vecpio. I will also say too that it has been a real huge blast working with him on this fic, and I never would have imagined so. Like, he was honestly my inspiration to start writing Vecpio, and I think without A Joint Venture, I probably wouldn't be here.**

 **But hey, I think that's enough life stories about fanfiction! You're here to read some shenanigans and maybe some Vecpio included : P**

 **Also, one thing that's made me kinda laugh is that Cosmictruffle is writing a lot of Vector's scenes and I'm doing Espio's scenes. Coincidence? : P**

* * *

Vector and the kids (along with the two Chao) strode along the path to Vanilla's house. They were pressed for time, which was a shame as it would have been lovely to slow down, enjoy the warm summer sun, and explore their surroundings.

"Alrighty, kiddos, we're here," Vector panted.

They entered, looked around the house for the things they needed, and then, Vector got sentimental.

"Kids, I screwed up!" The large green reptile put his head in his hands.

"Oh, boy, here come the waterworks," Charmy groaned.

"Mommy told you not to say 'screwed', Mr. Vector!" Cream looked concerned.

Vector scrunched his face. "You just said it too!"

"I didn't-" Cream trailed off quickly when she realized that she had indeed just said "screwed".

"How did you screw up, Vector?" Charmy asked.

He flew over and put a reassuring hand on the shoulder of his crocodilian father figure. "Do you mean when you made the best cake in the world, earlier, and-"

As Charmy rambled on, Cream piped up. "That cake WAS gr-"

She put her hands over her mouth, stopping herself quickly. Cream, wanting to divert attention from her previous swear, had played her conversation cards too soon – she'd recklessly forgotten that the cake was supposed to be a lie.

Vector looked at her quizzically. "Huh? When didja eat ANY cake?"

"What?" Cream avoided eye contact.

"What?" Vector said.

"What?" Cream echoed.

"Wh..." Vector trailed off.

"-and Espio was so disappointed because it looked like a decomposed body?" Charmy finished, taking in a bit of oxygen.

Vector's tail stopped moving; he looked down at the floor, and then looked back up. "Leprosy, decomposed bodies... I think I need to have a word with yer English teacher, Charmy." He paused, considering. "Though at least ya seem to be learnin' the crap in yer class well. Nice vocab."

"Stop changing the subject! It's therapy time. Cream and I don't have all day." Charmy buzzed around the room, his aerial equivalent of pacing. Cream and the two Chao stood next to Vector, who sat on a chair and placed his hands on his face, sighing as he felt his tail slump to the ground.

"Alrighty, I'll be honest: I wanted the weddin' to be perfect. I haven't had much money to treat Espio to a good life with... He deserves to marry someone who can give him all the gold chains and fancy headphones in the world," Vector sighed.

"Money isn't everything," Cream said. "Espio is a humble person."

"And I'm a bumble-person," Charmy said. "Cream is right. Espio likes all that minimalism crap. He doesn't want many material possessions, just experiences." He looked away and had a thought he didn't want to say out loud. _"Though, let's be real, money is pretty awesome, and it'd be nice if you could buy me more stuff once in a while..."_

Cream smiled. "And don't you think this will make the perfect wedding story? You'll both be laughing about it forever. It's _kind_ of funny, Mr. Vector."

"Ahh…" The bee got a distant look on his face. "I can _just_ picture you and Espio right now; sitting on rocking chairs as old farts and laughing about your tasty ruined wedding cake."

"I- I guess it is kinda funny. That cake did look pretty terrible, but we're still on track. We can still pull this off," replied Vector, gaining a bit more confidence.

"See?" Charmy turned to Cream. "We just fixed what my English teacher calls an 'existential crisis.'"

" _Screw the teacher,"_ Vector thought. _"I'm goin' to the goddamn school board."_

"We shouldn't be moping around! Let's get started on getting all the things we need!" Cream cheered.

"Chao Chao!" Cheese and Chocola exclaimed, simultaneously, as they fluttered behind the kids, who set off around the house.

Vector located a red rolled-up rug, betting on it to be the heaviest thing of the bunch. He ran his hand over it, the iconic carpet that would be the aisle, the tapestry of his and Espio's wedding. He thought of the chameleon. It was strange, but even now, having only been apart for a short time, Vector missed him.

Charmy went into the fridge and got some of the food supplies – refreshments, snacks, the main entree Vanilla had planned, all packed into a small cooler. They'd have to come back later for the rest.

Cream grabbed the tablecloth, handmade by her mother.

"All ready to go? We got everythin'?" Vector asked.

Cream nodded.

"Yeah," Charmy replied. "All over your wedding jitters now?"

Vector rubbed the back of his head. "I think so. I still think Espio deserves more, but I know he loves me – and I love him!"

The two kids smiled and nodded as they left the house, Vector locking the door behind them.

* * *

Vanilla preheated the oven and took out two cake pans, which lay on the kitchen counter.

"Let's get started," she said. Consulting their knowledge and abilities on making cakes, Espio and Vanilla started by putting the first set of ingredients into a bowl.

A few minutes later, Espio and Vanilla whisked the chocolate cake batter, the result of them mixing all their ingredients together. Seeing as they were pressed for time, the chameleon and rabbit knew they had to work fast.

"Espio, would you be so kind as to pass me more flour? My mix seems to continue being watery," Vanilla commented. The fuchsia reptile quickly stopped whisking and handed Vanilla the flour.

The two worked in silence for the remaining few minutes, until the mixture became heavy. Placing flour and cocoa powder onto the pans, Espio and Vanilla placed their chocolate cake batter into the one small and large pan. As it became filled up, Espio placed the pans into the now heated oven and closed the door.

Espio and Vanilla sighed, knowing that for now, they could relax. Espio leaned his back onto the fridge while Vanilla stood near the sink.

"Are you feeling fine, Espio?" the rabbit asked, seeing his uncharacteristically slumped posture and a look of unease.

"Yes… although, while I dislike admitting weakness… I _will_ admit that I am… well, rather nervous," replied the chameleon ninja.

"There's _no_ shame in revealing our insecurities to those we trust." Vanilla put a gentle hand on his shoulder, her voice clear and pure, comforting. "So, you're nervous about the wedding."

Espio nodded his head slightly, as Vanilla smiled and released a motherly, compassionate sigh.

"Don't worry, Espio, all shall turn out well. I felt the same way when I got married to my ex-husband. I got very nervous, and had it not been for my friends comforting me, I would have collapsed right then and there."

"I don't know… I have never experienced marriage myself, so sometimes I wonder if I'm doing things right."

"You _are_ doing it properly, Espio. Marriage is… marriage is the bonding of love. Today, you and Vector will meet a high point in your relationship – the bond of marriage, a bond that only you two share by your perfect love for each other."

"You… you believe so?"

"Yes… you love Vector as much as he loves you, your marriage to him will be like a string tied to two fingers; nothing can break that bond."

Espio looked at the engagement ring on his ring finger. "You're… you're right… perhaps I shouldn't be stressed over this. After all, today wouldn't happen if this bond weren't made."

"That's the spirit, Espio," Vanilla smiled. "I know seeing you two getting married will be such an elegant moment to see, and shouldn't be missed."

The buzzer to the oven rang, startling them from their conversation.

"Oh! It's done!" Espio said, getting off the fridge.

"We must have been talking for quite some time then," Vanilla replied. Grabbing two sets of mittens, Espio and Vanilla pulled out the pans in the oven and placed then on the counter.

"Vanilla, can you help me get the stand off of the ruined cake?" Espio asked.

"Yes, however, we should try to find a place to put it on."

"There should be a few large plates. Try one of those."

Vanilla looked around in the cabinets and found a rather large china plate. Placing it near the ruined cake, Espio took his gloves off as he slid the ruined cake onto the plate. He grabbed the stand and gave it, plus his hands, a quick wash. Drying them both, Espio placed the stand near the two pans.

"Let's let it cool down for a bit," Espio said.

The sound of an opening door, followed by two sets of footsteps, one set loud and and one quiet, alerted the pair. Vector, Charmy, Cream, Cheese, and Chocola had arrived.

"Hey, you guys!" Charmy said, flying into the door past everyone else. He began to sniff at the air and sighed in relief. "Ohhhhh… is that cake I smell?"

"Don'tcha think ya had enough cake today, Charmy?" Vector questioned, crossing his arms.

"Oh, Cream! Did you finish everything with Mr. Vector and Charmy?" Vanilla asked.

"Yes, Mommy," Cream replied. "Don't worry about the food. They're sealed so they'll stay fresh. Though, about the cheese…"

"Don't worry, I can easily warm it up again," Vanilla said.

Cream nodded. "Oh, okay. And we also rolled the aisle carpet down."

"Don't forget the tablecloth we put on the table!" the bee exclaimed.

"That too, Mommy."

"That's good. That means all that's left is the finishing touches on the cake, and that's that," replied Vanilla.

Waiting around for about half an hour, Espio touched the cake to find that it had now cooled down. He looked at Vanilla and nodded to her.

"Grab a knife. Let's get the cakes out of the pans," the chameleon said. Vanilla grabbed a knife from the utensil drawer and cut around the edges of the cakes. Espio slid the largest part of the cake off of its pan, onto the stand. Vanilla did the same with the smaller piece, sliding it on top of the larger.

"Now that that's taken care of, there are still two more parts left," Espio said. "Vector, would you like to help?"

"With pleasure," he responded, grinning his trademark toothy grin. "You sure ya trust me with another weddin' cake, though?" The grin turned sheepish.

Espio reached down into one of the counters and pulled out a container of white frosting, and two pastry bags containing icing. He handed them to Vector, a twinkle in his eye. "This is the easiest part, _and_ I'll be supervising."

Vector stuck out his tongue.

Espio also grabbed three bench scrapers, and passed one each to Vanilla and Vector. The three adults worked on getting the white frosting over the entirety of the chocolate cake.

"What are _we_ gunna do?" Charmy whined at one point. It was then that Vanilla stopped, breaking from her cake-icing trance.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Cream, could you be a sweetie and go home quickly to grab my camera?" she asked. "As well as more of the food!"

"Okay, Mommy!" Cream replied politely. She walked out of the Chaotix Detective Agency with the two Chao following behind her and skipped back to the house of the two rabbits.

"And what about me?" the bee asked.

"Watch the fort for us; be on the lookout if anyone is coming," Espio replied.

"Aye aye, captain! I need my lucky hat and telescope, however!"

Charmy buzzed up to his room to obtain his "materials", while the adults finished smoothing the cake with frosting.

"Can I ice the cake, hon?" Vector asked.

"Sure, you can do that, while in the meantime I'll get…"

Espio walked over to the ruined cake and pulled out two small figures, placing them onto the new cake.

"These."

Vanilla looked at them in awe. "Is that you and Vector?"

"Yes, in origami no less. These took a while, but I liked them in the end. I feel they're a tad unrealistic though, as personally, formal wear isn't my thing," Espio responded, pointing to the clothes of the paper version of himself, who was wearing a tuxedo much like the origami version of Vector. "I was thinking of getting a sculptor to make the wedding toppers, but I found that making them myself was the cheaper alternative."

"Oh, they look lovely, Espio!" Vanilla was beaming.

"Why, thank you-"

"Err, hey, Espio? Not to interrupt ya, but am I doin' good?" Vector asked.

"Hm? Oh, yes, you are!" he replied, watching his fiancé spread green icing into a curved line. "However… could you please speed it up? I don't believe we have much time."

"Hold yer horses, Espio! I ain't as fast as Sonic!"

"No, but making a loop of icing isn't the same as running _through_ a loop," Espio said, poking him.

Vector made a face and continued his work, speeding up despite his fear of messing the cake up anew.

As Vector carefully connected the line and started on another one, Espio joined in, grabbing the other pastry bag and went quickly as he spread purple icing into a curved line, connecting to the green line.

Vanilla noticed the color of the icing. "My, what a smart and cute idea! The icing is supposed to represent you both, correct?"

Espio nodded at Vanilla as he continued to ice. "Yes, I came up with the idea when Vector and I gave our thoughts on what the cake should look like."

"Shh, less talky more worky," Vector said.

"Oh you."

By the time Vector and Espio were almost done icing the bottom part of the cake, Cream had returned with Vanilla's camera.

"Hey, this is goin' real great!" Vector commented. "At this rate, I bet when we're done, we'll still have time to spare!"

All of a sudden, Vector, Espio, Vanilla, and Cream heard Charmy go "Uh-oh…"

"What's wrong, Charmy?" Vanilla asked.

"Err… would you believe me if I told you Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are coming up this way?"

Vector froze as he dropped the pastry bag onto the ground. "WHAT?! Lemme see!"

The crocodile ran to where Charmy was and grabbed the telescope from his hands. He peered through it, and true to his word, Team Sonic was coming up the dirt road to the Chaotix's home. Tails was holding a small present while Sonic and Knuckles carried something that looked large and heavy.

"AWH CRAP! ESPIO, COME ON, WE GOTTA HURRY!"

Vector ran back to the cake. Realizing he'd just sworn, in front of the kids no less, and seeing Vanilla's slight frown, he mumbled quickly, "Sorry, Miss..."

Vector rapidly iced the cake, not caring if his lines were perfect. Espio tried to make them as curved as possible, but found it difficult knowing he had to rush.

"Alrighty, alrighty, it's done!" The crocodile was even speed-talking. "New change of plans – Miss Vanilla, please open the back door so me and Espio can take the cake outside. Charmy, Cream, yer gunna be the most important people here. Stall the hel- stall the heck outta Sonic, Tails, and Knux, just make sure to say a bunch of nonsense so we have enough time to get this outside-"

 _Knock, knock knock knock knock, knock knock_

"Oh crap, here they are! Espio, Vanilla, c'mon, c'mon!"

Vanilla stayed still for a moment, lip pursed.

Vector wrung his hands. "S-sorry! I mean oh _crud!_ "

She sighed and went to get the back door.

The two reptiles grabbed the stand of the wedding cake and slowly walked out of the kitchen and to the backyard, careful not to drop it. Charmy, hovering above Cream, opened the door only slightly to see the blue hedgehog, the two tailed kitsune, and the red echidna on the doorstep.

"Hey there, Charmy! And you too, Cream! We aren't late for the wedding, are we?" Sonic said.

Cream looked behind her to see the adults still taking out the cake. She felt a sweat drop form on the side of her head as she put on a smile.

"Oh, no! We…. err… we're ready actually! No one else has come in fact! Well, besides me and Mommy."

"By the way, guys, I thought you would dress up," Charmy said, blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

"Oh, you wanted us to dress?" Tails asked.

"O-oh, uhh, no! It isn't mandatory, I just thought you guys would have because, you know, you're friends with Vector and Espio, and you know how important today is."

"Well, I told Sonic and Knuckles that we should probably do it, but they told me formal wear isn't their thing."

"Huh, funny, Espio is like that too," Charmy replied. He and the fox slightly chuckled.

"So, can we come in?" Knuckles asked.

Charmy and Cream looked at each other.

"Well… uhh… I dunno what Vector and Espio are doing right now…"

"You don't?" Sonic questioned.

"Y-Yeah… you know how… mysterious they are! Eh?"

Charmy gave a fake grin, watching the trio give each other weird looks. Knuckles looked like he was trying to hide a smirk. _"Ugh… damn, they're not buying it…"_

It was then that the bee and rabbit turned their heads and noticed Vector, Vanilla, and Espio by the backdoor. They all gave a thumbs up as they walked back to the backyard.

"Oh hey, there they are! They were in the backyard! C'mon guys, follow us!"

Charmy and Cream beckoned Team Sonic in, the latter of whom wiped their shoes on the doormat and followed after the two kids.

As the bee buzzed ahead of them through the house, with Cream beside him, he heard Knuckles behind them, whispering to Sonic and Tails, "I wonder who was in _whose_ backyard."

"Knuckles, children!" Tails hissed.

"Yeah, shut up, Knucklehead!" Sonic whispered.

"Whatever, they dunno what it means," complained Knuckles.

"I'll just ask Vector and Espio," Charmy said, not looking back to hide his smile.

"Uuuuuhhhhh-" Knuckles began stammering.

"Relax," Charmy said. "I have no idea what that joke meant, and I'm not gonna embarrass you by doing it. I assume it was something dirty, though, because I'm not stupid and you're a loud whisperer."

The echidna let out a nervous chuckle. "I'll tell you when you're older."


	3. The Arrivals

**Author's Note: Hello again! This section of the story was where things started to really pick up and get ridiculously fun. With so many characters in one place, the possibilities for interactions were almost limitless. I would've carried on forever had we not had a wedding to write about. Not to say that this is the end of the characters bouncing off of each other - far from it. The wedding (which starts now but whose actual ceremony is yet to come) is by far the longest part of the story, though I guess that makes sense given what we're writing :P**

 **Anyhoo, enjoy!**

* * *

Vector looked around the backyard. He could hardly believe this day was happening.

Cream was skipping around joyfully, picking weeds from the ground (they all were flowers to her).

Charmy and Tails were having what appeared to be a very serious discussion. Snippets Vector overheard included:

"-but with the introduction of complex metaphysics the whole theory starts to fall apart," from the bee, and;

"that thought experiment wasn't even relevant in 1872, let alone in contemporary sociopolitical dialogue!" out of the fox's mouth.

Vector assumed they were talking about candy, or something, and moved on.

Sonic was pacing back and forth, talking to a sitting Knuckles. When Vector asked Sonic why he was pacing, the hedgehog replied that sitting made him anxious, and that he'd have enough of that to do while the wedding was taking place.

Just then, Amy burst in, nearly tripping over a lawn chair, before recovering gracefully. She brushed off the skirt of her red dress, a shapely and sophisticated play on her usual attire, with a longer skirt and red heels in place of go-go boots. Her outfit matched the carpet upon which she stood, as if she instead were meant to walk down it.

"I'm here! Oh, everything's so beautiful," she practically sang. "Hi, Vector! I just saw Espio, and he looks great!"

Then, the pink hedgehog's eyes averted from Vector's, to notice the blue blur standing beside him, hands on his hips.

"Hooooo-boy, here we go," mumbled Sonic, which Vector could only barely hear standing next to him. The blue hedgehog looked around the area frantically. "Great backyard, but there's nowhere to hide..."

"There you are, my darling Sonic!" Amy beamed, rushing up to hug him tightly. "Oh, aren't you excited for Espio and Vector's wedding?"

"Clearly, not as much as you, Amy," Sonic replied, squirming from her grip. "But don't ignore them for me – it's the Chaotix's time."

"You're right, Sonic!" She pulled a gift box from hammerspace. Vector noticed Sonic and Knuckles flinching, and realized that this was the same motion she used to retrieve her hammer and bash them on so many past occasions.

"Here, Vector, this is for both you and Espio!" Amy said with a smile, handing him the gift.

"Ooh, boy! Thanks, Ames! Let's see what-"

But before Vector could finish his sentence and unwrap the parcel, he heard a loud noise coming from inside. Vector placed the gift onto a table and walked closer to hear voices.

"Watch where you're going!"

" _The entryway's size was insufficient for my needs."_

"Well… who's paying the door repair charge?"

"Not me."

"Maybe they won't notice."

"Yeah, let's go with that. Place is a dump anyway – this only adds to the décor."

" _A humble abode."_

"Sheesh, not a thing of value in here, I feel like I've stepped into a thrift shop- oh, hi Espio."

Rouge exited the house, into the backyard, dressed in a fancy red coat, a blue beret, and glossy black boots, soon followed by Shadow, and then, the robot E-123 Omega, who for some reason, had a small black bowtie on.

"Sorry I'm late," Rouge said. "Well, okay, not really. But anyway, happy wedding day and such and such."

"I see you brought your sidekick, Rouge," Vector said.

"I'm no one's sidekick…" Shadow muttered in his trademark monotone voice, a little defensive as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah, yeah," Rouge said. "Keep telling yourself that."

"Anyway, what's with Omega? I can't imagine he'd have any reason of wanting to be here," Knuckles interrogated, getting up uncomfortably close to Rouge.

Rouge backed away a step. "We only brought Omega because my watch's batteries are dead." She opened a door in the robot's chest, frosty air pouring out, and retrieved a bottle. "Also, he keeps the champagne cold."

She handed the bottle to Vector, who popped it gleefully. "Awh yeah! More booze!"

Omega shot the cork in midair with his arm cannon. Multiple bullets fired through the cork as it fell to the ground. Tails clapped.

"Espio doesn't like when you get sloshed, Vector," Charmy warned.

"I know, I know. I'll only have a little." Vector closed his eyes, lifted his champagne flute, and was about to take a big gulp…

Until the champagne splashed all over his face.

"Gaaak!"

Vector's eyes popped open and he stumbled backward, tripping on a loose piece of carpet and falling onto his derriere. Charmy flew out of the way, nearly crushed by the crocodile's landing.

"Oof!" Vector grunted upon landing. "What the hell?"

He looked into his glass. There was a frog inside of it.

Just then, he heard crashing footsteps from inside the Chaotix Detective Agency.

"Froggyyyyyy!" called an anti-intellectual-sounding voice. "Where are you, Froggyyy?"

Then he saw a large, purple figure opening the glass patio door and running outside.

"It's Big the Cat!" Charmy exclaimed.

"Thanks for making the door bigger so I could get in," Big said.

Shadow and Rouge exchanged a quick glance.

"No... No problem," Vector said. He held up his glass. "Here, I've got yer frog."

"Thanks," Big said, holding out his hands, into which Vector poured a champagne-smelling Froggy.

The frog let out a _ribbit_ which sounded suspiciously like an amphibious hiccup. He was having a bit of trouble balancing in the cat's palms.

"You almost had a _frog in your throat,_ " Tails giggled.

No one else laughed. Tails' grin turned quickly to a frown and he lowered his head in shame.

* * *

For the time being until the wedding started, it was nothing but a small preamble for everyone in the backyard.

"No one understands the pressure I'm under every day. It drives me to drink, sometimes. Most people can take a sick day and no one raises a fuss. If I'm not **-hic-** vigilant at all times, if I fail at my job, an island literally falls from the sky. THE SKY!" said Knuckles, taking another gulp of the champagne Vector didn't want anymore.

"I hope you have tenure, 'cause you're not very good at it," Rouge said. "Sometimes I forget it's a floating island, what with it being in the ocean 90% of the time."

"S-Shut up! This isn't your conversation…" Knuckles seethed. He turned back to his new friend. "You understand me, right, bro?"

" _Ribbit,"_ croaked Froggy.

"I'd cheers you, but it seems your drink is empty."

Over on the other side of the yard, Amy and Cream were admiring Espio's modest vegetable garden, kneeling down to look closely.

"Sure beats the potted plants on the windowsill when they were living in that apartment," Amy said.

"Espio certainly has a green thumb," Cream agreed. "I've even heard my mommy asking him for tips."

"You'd think Vector would be the one with green thumbs," Amy joked. "Heck, you think Charmy pollinates the flowers?"

Cream frowned. "Can we talk about something other than men now? My mommy said it's important that I have at least one conversation that passes the 'Bechdel Test' per day, or I'll stop having independent thoughts."

"But I was about to have a very long and completely unnecessary monologue about my darling Sonic!" Amy frowned.

"I know," Cream said. "I've talked with you before."

"Do the robots count as boys?"

Cream stared at Omega, him being the only robot nearby. "Probably, if their gender is unknown and we go by societal assumptions."

Amy sighed. "It's tough being a well-written woman in this day and age."

"I know. Especially when the movers and shakers are all male."

"And you know only a couple of other girls," Amy added, standing up and stretching her legs. "It's weird, I know we're supposed to be half of the population, but boys seem so much more... _common._ "

"Yeah, it's like all the other women are in hiding, talking about shoes in some secret bunker," Rouge said, approaching the two.

"What are you doing here, Rouge?" Amy quipped. "The safety deposit box is all the way over at the bank."

"Can't a treasure hunter have some non-monetary, altruistic reasons for going from place to place?"

"I guess."

"Mommy said we shouldn't judge others until we take a walk in their shoes," Cream said, looking at Amy.

"Pfft. As if I'd be caught dead in those," Amy said. "This isn't the red light district."

"Oh, my mistake!" Rouge hissed, obviously offended. "I thought it was – I got confused by the glare off your plastic, crimson heels. Where'd you find those, dumpster diving after Sonic threw your engagement ring away?"

A vein popped on the pink hedgehog's head as she stiffened. "You almighty b-"

"LOOKS like the bunker doors are open," Cream quickly interrupted. She sighed. "Amy, Rouge, please stop fighting. This is supposed to be a happy occasion."

"You're right," Amy said.

"Yeah. Sorry, kid," Rouge agreed.

"The two of you might have more in common than you'd think," Cream suggested. "For example, you're both strong and indep- well, Rouge is independent. And you both know how to sass people. I've always kind of envied that."

"Really? But Cream, you've always been so polite," Amy said.

"Yeah, never would've expected a churchmouse- er, churchrabbit like you to wanna be a smartass."

"Well, not all the time," Cream explained. "Being mean isn't exactly my thing, as you're probably aware. But it would be nice to have some zingers to use when Charmy is being annoying, which is a lot of the time, honestly."

"The bee? Isn't he your best friend or something? Whatever, he _can_ be a bit irritable. Don't worry, I can certainly teach you," Rouge said.

"And I can help!" Amy grinned. "First things first, you have to remember to say it with a sweet smile, so they don't know you're insulting them. It'll come off as a joke."

"I generally skip that step," Rouge said. "But it's probably a good idea for you, Cream. Also, for the most biting remark, try to single out something the person is particularly proud of, so they'll be really self-conscious hearing about it in a negative light."

"You're both so good at this," Cream said, mouth agape. "See, you do have things in common!"

Rouge glanced at Amy. "Yeah, I'd never have thought it, but I guess we do. Amy just needs to learn to make her hedgehog follow _her_ , like mine does, and not the other way around."

"Sonic doesn't want to follow anyone," Amy said. "Unless they're a chili dog vendor."

"That can change," Rouge said. "There are ways to wrap men around your finger. The easiest is to maintain a cool, confident bearing, and act aloof and disinterested. When they think they can't have you, they'll work twice as hard. Your problem is, you're too available."

"To be fair, Sonic _did_ start to seem more interested the more I hung around Espio a year back." Amy mused.

"See? It's _science_."

"Bechdel Test," Cream said quickly.

"Right," Amy said. "Anyway, Cream, the truth is, you don't need to change who you are. Politeness is one of your great strengths – you're a diplomat."

"Yeah, Amy, but _diplomat_ is a few letters away from _doormat_ , which she does _not_ want to be," Rouge said. "If you ask me, Cream takes her mother's words too seriously. Lady's a prude."

"That's my _mother_ you're talking about!" Cream frowned, upset at what Rouge said.

"Yeah, and you talk about her plenty," Rouge retorted. "You have barely any mind of your own, outside of her wishes. In a few years the two of you'll be back in time, living in the country while wearing matching floor-length dresses and churning butter together in some cabin, humming show tunes in full sync while bluebirds shit all over the clothesline."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Cream said hesitantly, adding, "Minus the bird doodoo."

"See? Brainwashed." Rouge turned to the pink hedgehog, nodding.

"It's not bad to listen to your mom, Cream," Amy said, biting her lip. "But all of us have had a rebellious phase at some point in our lives. It's nice to be nice, but you take it to weird levels sometimes. You're like a china doll."

"You just said that politeness was my best quality!" Cream said.

"I was just being polite!" Amy shrugged defensively.

"Amy's right," Rouge said. "Live a little! Have some spunk! Stand up for yourself! Yada yada!"

"Maybe I _will_ ," Cream pouted. "Apparently being a good person isn't doing me any favours."

"She's got some fight in her yet," Rouge said to Amy, before getting on one knee and taking Cream's shoulders in her hands. "Now go out into the world and show it who's boss. Except for me. You're still subservient to me."

"Me too," Amy said. "I'm not giving you this advice so I can have a headache."

Cream sighed again and excused herself.

* * *

"Hey, Cream, I need some math help," Charmy said as she was approaching. "What's the square root of a buttcheek?"

Cream turned to Charmy, an un-amused glare on her face. "Can I borrow your helmet? It's not very nice-looking, but you make me want to bang my head against the wall."

Charmy's jaw dropped as she stormed past. "That wasn't very funny, but still entirely uncharacteristic!" He paused, frowning. " _Aw… I thought my helmet was chic..."_

Shadow was standing nearby, back against the wall and arms crossed, near Omega.

" _Might as well bother him, then,"_ the youngest Chaotix member thought. He flew over. "Hey! What's up, tall, dark and emotionally crippled?"

Shadow rolled his eyes upon hearing Charmy's upbeat voice. "I don't even know why I let Rouge drag me here... This is an altogether uninteresting endeavor…."

"What else would you be doing? Writing bad poetry? If you're bored, you need to mingle. Go talk to Big! His conversational skills rival yours!"

"Ugh… Buzz off…" Shadow sneered.

"That's what I do best!" Charmy did just that. The black hedgehog turned to Omega.

"Omega, are you finished downloading that pirated software or am I to stand here with my thoughts forever?"

" _The young striped insect is correct. You should speak with the others. Perhaps you will gain different perspectives on life, new ideas. If I am not mistaken, you fleshlings find such experiences quite useful,"_ said the machine.

"When you put it that way, I guess it makes sense..."

Shadow got up from the wall and looked around to find the closest person there was. Unfortunately, it just so happened that said closest person was Sonic, with Tails beside him.

Shadow cursed himself, and hesitantly approached the Unbreakable Duo.

"What's up, Ultimate Life Form?" Sonic quipped.

"Hi there, Shadow," Tails said, hardly looking up from the Roomba (which he so lovingly called the "Roombot") he was repairing.

"I have come to engage in banter. Count this as your lucky day."

"Banter?" Sonic asked.

"Yes, you know, back-and-forth, a conversation, et cetera."

"Since when do you want to talk with us?" Tails said, giving a quizzical glance at Shadow.

"Since Rouge is busying herself with more-" He looked over at Amy, talking to the bat. "- _humble_ pursuits, I decided to do the same, and find someone else to occupy a brief margin of my time here. Might as well... get to know the locals, as they say."

"As _who_ says?" Sonic replied.

"You know... _they_."

"This conversation's kinda lame, to be perfectly honest." Sonic looked over at his fox friend. "Right, Tails?"

"Well, I wouldn't say lame, but yeah, it's mediocre," replied Tails.

"Isn't that the same thing?" Sonic said, looking irate.

"What?"

"Lame and mediocre?" Sonic tapped his foot.

"They aren't the same thing."

"Yeah, they kind of are," Shadow interjected.

"No, they're completely different," Tails persisted.

"One means _bleh_ and the other means _blegh_. We get it. There are _distinctions_. SUBTLE and VAGUE and POINTLESS distinctions." Sonic was pacing back and forth, arms in the air, hand-talking like a maniac. "Stop being such a show-off, Tails. You don't have to keep reminding us that you're smarter than everyone in the world. All you did was literally take my word and slap a red ribbon on it and act like it was a new and better and more proper word. It's _not_."

Tails let out a heavy sigh. "I wasn't trying to show off, I just like the word better-"

"Lame sounds better. Doesn't it, Shadow? It sounds waaaaaaay past better."

"I have to agree with Tails, as I would say 'mediocre' over 'lame'. But I can't help that I prefer a more eloquent form of speech, and don't subscribe to corny 90's standards of what constitutes 'cool'." He said that last word with a sneer, imitating Sonic's voice, making it sound more like " _kewl_ ".

"Yeah, well, you're both just trying to sound better. Better than who? Or should I say _whom_?"

"Whom – yeah, whom would be right," Shadow said.

"Better than _whom_? The language police? _God_? Chaos? The _dictionary_?"

"Sonic, this is why I never take you to bars," Tails whined. "You're projecting again."

"I am the FASTEST thing alive. That means I think faster than you, too. So I already know all of this, I already thought about it a hundred times before the thoughts even formed in your head, Tails. I just thought about it and moved on with my life, but you're still trapped in these same thoughts because you move and think so much slower than I do, so _logically_ it takes you a longer time to get through those thought processes and get to the same level I'm at, by which point I've already fast-thought my way to even more thoughtful thoughts."

Shadow, by this point, had walked away.

Tails was standing there, looking like someone who'd been woken by the baby three times already and was getting out of bed the fourth time – and it was only 3 A.M. He let out a sigh.

"Sonic, you're probably right."

The hedgehog smiled triumphantly. "It's so rad of you to admit that, Tails. That takes guts."

"That's what you said the last six times, too."

"Six times two?" Sonic looked at his fingers, counting in the air with them. "What I said the last twelve? What does that even mean?"

"I don't know." Tails shook his head.

"Oh, well. Maybe if you were a better speaker you would've come up with something," Sonic joked.

Tails rolled his eyes. "Guess I just didn't think quickly enough."

Meanwhile, Vector was sipping at his new flute of champagne (given to him by Omega after Froggy jumped into his last one), flicking his tail idly. " _What's takin' Esp so long?"_ he thought.


	4. The Replacement

**(AN: Yup, it's yo boy, TheHunterPersian again. Welcome to chapter 4! If you remember last AN, where cosmictruffle discussed about character interactions, trust me, there's a WHOLE bunch here. But don't worry, the actual vecpio is coming very soon ; )**

 **Oh, and one more thing: I know this may seem like blatant advertising but I started a new Vecpio fic! Go on my page and look for the fic titled "A Deal or No Deal". That's it right there!**

 **Anyway, time for me to shut up and you to read)**

* * *

Espio sat inside with Vanilla, getting ready for the big moment.

The maternal rabbit was helping him apply a fancy scale polish he'd splurged on to look good for the occasion. The bottle said that it would make his scales shiny and beautiful.

"It's starting to look wonderful," Vanilla remarked.

"Great," Espio replied.

"Would you like to look in the mirror?"

"I'll wait until we're finished, thanks."

They worked in relative silence.

"Vanilla, I have to say... you have been a great friend to us – not just Vector, but Charmy and me, as well. I wanted to thank you for always supporting us."

"Oh, dear, you don't need to say that! What are friends for?"

"Can I make a confession?" Espio looked guilty.

"Of course, what is it?"

"To be honest... for a long time while we were acquainted, before Vector and I got together... I was very jealous of you and it made me resent you. Childish and unnecessary emotions that I am… not proud of, to say the least."

"Jealous of me? Whatever for?"

"Vector obviously had been pining for you for a while, and you two seemed so close. I always felt this sort of… _envy_ , anytime you two were together. Then that night on his 21st birthday, when you two went out to the bar, my mind was racing, a million thoughts of you two being together crossed my mind and it made me absolutely depressed… heh, love is silly sometimes…

"But then that same night, when he got home after you guided him back here – that was the first time he kissed me. And my unpleasant feelings toward you began to diminish. Then you came into our lives more and more, and I recognized the gentle soul inside you."

"Espio, I don't know what to say..."

The chameleon closed his eyes, turning his head away from Vanilla. "I hope you're not too angry. Please forgive me."

"N-no, I'm not angry at all." She bit her lip. "It's just that... well... we _all_ feel jealousy. I've felt it toward you three more often than I'd like to admit."

"You? Jealous? Really?" Espio was taken aback. "Of us?"

"You and Vector and Charmy make the perfect family. Ordered chaos. Two parents are better than one, when it comes to divvying responsibilities and providing support for each other..." She looked distraught, an uncommon look for the rabbit, who was generally more composed.

Espio hadn't given much thought to this before. It dawned on him just how much more work raising a child must have been for Vanilla. Even if hers _were_ much more behaved. "So we were _both_ jealous of each other. Somewhat amusing, no? We are both so blessed, in different ways." He paused. "And in a sense, you and Cream are a part of our family, too. You two aren't alone anymore!"

"That means a lot, Espio. It really does. Thank you, and know that I mean it when I say – likewise." Vanilla smiled, rubbing one eye. Had that been a tear? Or an itch? Espio didn't want to ask.

"Vanilla..." Now Espio was the one at a loss for words. "I feel that now would be an appropriate time for a hug, but this polish will undoubtedly ruin your clothes..."

Vanilla laughed. "It's the thought that counts." She then stepped back to judge their work. "Speaking of polish – did you want to look in the mirror now? We're finished, as far as I can- _Oh!_ "

"What's the matter?" Espio asked, watching her eyes widen.

"Come see for yourself," Vanilla said, motioning toward the mirror and walking to it.

Espio got up, went over to the mirror. "It looks good, what are you-"

Then he saw the unforeseen.

* * *

Vector was getting quite antsy. He tapped his fingers on the side of the Chaotix Detective Agency. The crocodile was about to break the rule and go in to check on Espio when the patio door opened, Vanilla coming outside.

"Miss V? Where is Espio?" the crocodile asked.

"He said he'll be out in one more minute – said he had to grab something."

"I know what Vector _wants_ him to grab, if you know what I'm -hic- sayin'~ Heh heh…" Knuckles slurred, with a stupid grin.

In a moment, almost everyone looked some combination of uncomfortable (Amy, Vanilla, Sonic, Tails), confused (Cream, Cheese, Charmy, Big) and surprised (Shadow, Rouge). Rouge had to stifle a snicker with a too-obvious cough.

Those excluded from reacting were Omega and Froggy, whose faces, predictably, betrayed no emotion.

"Knux! We're at a goddamn _wedding!_ " Sonic hissed, pulling on his friend's arm. Then he quickly glanced at Vanilla, realizing his mistake, but she seemed to ignore the swear this time, given its context.

Knuckles pushed Sonic's hand away, scratching where he'd been grabbed. "But it was still funny, right?"

Sonic lowered his voice. "Okay, maybe a _little_ , but time and place, man!"

"I wonder how Espio fits his hand around it," whispered Rouge to Amy.

"I don't want to think about that," Amy said, though her cheeks turned noticeably redder.

"Prude." Rouge crossed her legs, holding her glass out for a refill as Tails came around with a champagne bottle, in an attempt to distract and diffuse the tension.

Having overheard the murmurs of the women beside him, Shadow, for some reason, decided to weigh in. "You know, size isn't everything... Just because he's big _structurally_ does not necessarily mean he's comparatively... _endowed_."

Rouge scoffed. "Oh, be quiet, Thimble."

Now it was Amy who was hiding her laughter, choking quietly into her champagne glass. Shadow's face burned.

"He's on to something, though." Knuckles, a seat behind them, had leaned in and joined into the conversation. "Jus' 'cause he's large doesn't mean he's in charge. Heh, I bet he's Espio's _bitch_."

" _Jeez,_ " Rouge said. "And they say I'M a loud whisperer."

"I have been TRYING to tell you that for ages, Rouge!" Shadow said.

"Be _quiet_ , Thimble," Rouge repeated, tapping the black hedgehog's nose.

" _Thimble_ the _Hedgehog_ , he's so small that you can't _see~_ " Knuckles decided, in a moment of verbal clarity, to alter the words of a familiar tune.

Shadow pursed his lips and withdrew from the conversation.

"No wonder he's so _emo_ ," Charmy whispered to Cream.

A yell startled everyone.

"I CAN HEAR ALL OF YA! THIS IS A VERY WEIRD WEDDIN' CONVERSATION!" Vector was swishing his tail aggressively and tapping his foot.

"Oops," Rouge said.

"Apparently you're a VERY loud whisperer," Amy joked.

"Shut _up_ , Thimbles," Rouge hissed.

Amy, taken aback, was about to reply in kind, when mercifully, the tension was dissipated by Charmy's question, which distracted most of them.

"So, who's officiating?"

Vector rolled his eyes and let out a not-so-subtle sigh. " _Knuckles._ "

They all glanced over to see his red rear poking out of the bushes along the fence, dry heaving with gusto.

Amy's jaw dropped. She leaned over to Sonic and grabbed his hand. "What does Vector mean by _Knuckles_?! What kind of a _cockamamie_ idea is THAT?!"

Sonic shushed her. "Watch your _mouth!_ Vanilla will hear you!"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Sonic, it's _not_ a swear."

"Yeah it is! I'm not deaf!"

"Christ, Sonic, get a _dictionary,_ " Shadow muttered.

"Sonic, I _swear_ it wasn't a swear," Amy sighed.

" _The pink hedgehog is correct,"_ said Omega.

Big swatted at a fly in the air around his head.

"It actually _isn't_ a curse word, Sonic," chimed Vanilla. " _Cockamamie_ is one of my personal favourite words for describing ridiculousness and irrelevance."

"Cockamamie! Cockamamie!" cheered Charmy, while Cream looked uncomfortable beside him.

"Since we're on the subject, its etymology is actually quite interesting-" began Tails.

Rouge cut him off. "No one likes a _nerd,_ Tails."

Tightening her clutch on the blue hedgehog, focusing back on the situation at hand, Amy said, "Knuckles is in NO position to officiate! Do something!"

" _Wha-?_ Why ME?" Sonic leaned back, away from her, trying in futility to escape her iron grip.

"You're his best friend!"

"Guys?" Vector said. "It's ain't that simple."

Sonic ignored Vector to respond to Amy. "What are you talking about, Amy? _Tails_ is my best friend!"

"Er, guys?"

"I said that you're his, not that he's yours."

"Sonic! Amy!" Vector was making a loudspeaker with his palms.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he's _my_ responsibility!"

"Argh..." Vector groaned and stopped attempting to interrupt.

Shadow, noticing the groom's distress, leaned over flicked Sonic's ear, painfully.

"OW! What was that for?" Sonic rubbed his ear, on the defensive.

"You're forgetting something," Shadow said.

"Coming from the king of amnesia, that doesn't mean much," Sonic retorted.

"Shut up and listen for once. This _can't_ be an official wedding unless it is conducted by a priest or a member of another religious order, or someone with some kind of license, at the very least."

"He's right," Vector said. "I've been tryin' to say that, but he did it more elegantly than I would've anyway."

"I think you mean _'eloquently'_ ," Tails said.

Vector silently glared at Tails, who frowned awkwardly and looked away.

"And... _Knuckles_ is-?" Amy asked.

"He's legally licensed to do weddin's," Vector said. "That's why we picked 'em."

"Mr. Knuckles is? When and how?" asked Cream, saying what the entire group was thinking.

Shadow continued explaining. "The ancient Echidna clan's religion of Chaos worship, while cult-like in nature, is _still_ passably a religion, enough to count in this case. As the Master Emerald's guardian and the Echidna clan's only available leader, Knuckles is essentially a Pope."

Rouge raised an eyebrow. "A man of the cloth, eh?"

"Wow..." Sonic made a weird face, to reflect his intake of weird information. "No kidding?"

"Ultimate Life Forms don't _kid,_ Sonic," monotoned Shadow.

"But they _banter?_ " Sonic asked, genuinely baffled by his darker doppelganger.

Shadow shrugged.

"So, what can _we_ do? We haven't any clergy outside of Knuckles, have we?" Vanilla asked.

Tails started to explain. "You can actually easily get a certificate online that allows you to officiate wedd-"

The fox was interrupted by a loud beeping jingle. It came from Omega.

The digital noise roused all whose attention had started dipping at the sound of the fox's voice.

" _Done,_ _"_ the robot said. Out of a slot in his torso, some paperwork was printing. Sonic grabbed it and chuckled.

"Ha-HA! I love how everything in my life happens without much effort on my part," the hedgehog grinned.

Rouge smiled too. "We didn't even have to hear dorkmeister's full explanation. I was worried I was gonna have to do more _learning_ for a second there _._ "

"Oh, thank _God,"_ Vector mumbled to himself.

"Now for the final step. Wish me luck!" Sonic scooched out of his seat and went to visit the echidna in the bushes, kneeling on the grass beside him. "Hey, Knux."

"Waaaaas _suuuuuuuuuuuuup_?" The second syllable merged gracefully into vomit.

"I've been thinking." Fake compassion oozed from the hedgehog's voice, as he held Knuckles' dread-like quills back for him. "You seem to be pretty loaded, and Vector and Espio seem to want to get hitched _without_ a hitch, so maybe it'd be best if I took over from here."

"I'm fine! I -hic- swear on the Master Emerald," Knuckles slurred.

"Yeah, I'd take that back unless you wanna go shard hunting again," Rouge shouted from her seat.

"No comments from the peanut gallery, please," Sonic rolled his eyes, turning back to Knuckles. "Knux, look at it this way; while I'm up there doing the boring junk, you get to _drink_."

"Sold." Knuckles stopped retching, looked at Sonic, and gave two thumbs up, grinning a pukey grin. He turned his head and yelled to Vector, "I still get to be the best man, right?"

Vector ground his teeth, but was unable to let the echidna down. "...Of _course._ "

Sonic returned to his seat. "Well, that was easy."

"Drunks are always either impossible to reason with, or as malleable as cookie dough," Shadow observed. "Guess our little echidna friend was the latter."

"We'd better get ready," Vector remarked. "We should've already been, but I got distracted. Thankfully Esp has been takin' his sweet ol' time. How long does it take to grab somethin' anyway?"

"It would depend on the size of that something, evidently," Rouge said, her voice managing to convey mockery and perversion simultaneously.

Vector pointedly ignored her, and walked up to the makeshift altar. Sonic joined Vector and stood behind the altar - not the official kind, but the kind university professors sometimes stood behind. They'd found it at a garage sale. It was worn and the wood was chipped in places.

While this was happening, all the guests began to take their seats, solely waiting for Espio so that the wedding could begin. Cream went to the other side from where Vector was standing, holding her basket of rose pedals.

It turned out to be perfect timing, as just as they got into position, the patio door opened again.

They gasped collectively, Vector loudest of all.


	5. The Union

**Author's Note:** **Well, the time has come! The wedding is imminent. This chapter is basically a fluffapalooza... so get ready!**

* * *

Espio had taken longer than he should have inside. He was trying to compose himself, pacing back and forth in front of the mirror. He worried the effect was too ostentatious.

Anxiety was kicking in. He was going to mess this up. He looked like a bride, not a groom.

Why did he even care? His idea was symbolic, representative of a sharp and powerful moment in their relationship. Vector would understand it, though the rest likely wouldn't.

He held the moon flower in his hand like a singular bouquet. He'd snagged it on the night of Vector's proposal, on Little Planet, while the crocodile was occupied.

It was funny… to think that a few years ago, seeing the moon flower caused him a good amount of inner pain, remembering the awful argument between him and Vector when they had been dating.

Now, the flower had taken a different meaning. And it would be the symbol of Espio's first step into the life of marriage.

He heaved a sigh of pent-up tension, and slid open the patio door.

* * *

All the guests, who were either sitting or in a different location, looked directly at him (sans Knuckles).

Espio was positively shimmering. His scales appeared to sparkle in the light, like gems. More, his body was fluctuating between various shades within the range of his natural purple, from reddish to blueish to pink and back again, slowly and elegantly. The colours reflected off the glassy, gem-like surface of the flower.

He held his breath, acutely aware of everyone's eyes on him, their unfaltering stares.

"Are… Are we ready to begin the wedding?" Espio asked.

Everyone nodded. The chameleon walked forward, toward where Cream was.

The youthful rabbit started tossing flower petals on the carpet as Espio followed behind her, continuing to hold the moon flower. As he walked past everyone, he could feel their eyes on him.

As Espio approached the "altar", the small rabbit winked and said, "Don't worry. You've got this, Espio!"

Cream went to sit next to her mother as the fuchsia reptile gulped, and took one last step.

Finally, he was at the altar. All uncertainty and anxiety fell from him and disappeared when he met eyes with his soulmate.

"Esp, ya look fantastic! What've ya done?" asked Vector.

"Apparently my innate colour-changing mechanism reacts strangely to scale polish. It would seem my body is perpetually attempting to camouflage itself against an unknown colour. The result: An endless shifting of hues." Espio explained.

"I'm blown away. Thought we agreed we wouldn't dress up, though? I missed bein' the hottest reptile here."

"I broke the rules. I wanted to impress you."

"Mission accomplished," Vector grinned. "And the flower? Great touch."

Espio nodded in delight.

"Yo, lovebirds, you gotta say your vows. I don't have all day," Sonic commented, tapping his foot.

"Sheesh, all right, we'll get to business," replied Vector.

"Why is Sonic officiating?" asked Espio.

Vector and Sonic simultaneously pointed to Knuckles, who was enduring a bout of hiccups in his chair, covering his mouth with his spiked gloves – at least he was attempting to be covert about it. Amy was turned away from him, but still continued to stare at him in case he did anything.

"I see."

"Well, if there are no further questions, I'd like to get this over with before MY buzz wears off," Sonic said impatiently.

Espio nodded. "Very well."

Sonic cleared his throat and began. "We gather here today, friends of the Chaotix, in honor of the union of two of its members; Espio and Vector. The pair has overcome so much in their lives, and they only become stronger with each challenge and each passing day. Today, on their best day, this day of joyous proportions, the pair will become as one. Vector and Espio will, henceforth, be lawfully wed."

The audience was silent, watching the wedding unfold, while the reptilian pair gazed lovingly at one another.

"Let us begin with a moment of silence for the newlyweds."

Everyone lowered their heads (except Omega, Shadow, and Knuckles, the latter of whom thought he'd meant "continue giggling, but not loud enough that everyone could hear him").

After a minute, the moment of silence was over, and everyone's heads came up.

"You two have your vows ready, right?" The blue hedgehog asked.

They nodded.

"You wanna go first, Esp?" asked Vector.

Espio nodded, and cleared his throat. "Vector, my love, I've known you for all these years, through thick and thin, and you've been beside me all the way. When we started our joint venture, the detective agency, those years ago, I had no idea it would come to this. Had I, the days would have been even sweeter. But just spending the time with you as a friend was a blessing in itself. I love our job. I love our life. And most of all, I love you. I can't wait to live my dream - spending the rest of my life with you."

Vector smiled brightly.

They then heard a sob from the audience, and turned to face who the source was; Amy. She wiped her tears with a handkerchief as Tails sniffed, wiping a sole tear from his eye. Their glistening eyes seemed to convey a multitude of emotions at once, fixed on Espio and on the flower he carried.

"That was… so beautiful…" she quietly said.

Knuckles shushed her, more loudly than she had spoken. She stuck out her lip and ignored him.

Espio ruffled around and found what he needed. "As my wedding gift to you, something important to me - I'd like you to have this shuriken."

The crocodile took it in his hand, quietly, looking at it with wonder.

"It's ancient and has been in my family line for centuries. Apparently. a member of each generation of my family has used to save themselves, somehow."

"Esp, this is too much..."

"Have it. I want you to."

"I dunno what to say... Thanks, Espio."

The chameleon smiled. "Don't mention it."

"And on my end," Vector said, clearing his throat. "For the gift that is important to me, which I'm supposed to give to ya, I decided that it oughtta be somethin' that wasn't material, after deliberatin' for days, knowin' that ya don't like to have a lot of things. So I wanted to present to you what's most important to me – something you can't buy – the memories I've made while knowing you."

"Y'know, we've been on so many adventures together. Heh, Carnival Island, back when we first met... I'd go back into the creepy crane game machine again just to relive the rush of being pulled out and then seeing you at the controls, smiling. The Fake Eggman case and Metal Overlord, which were pretty fun looking back, minus the whole not-getting-paid thing... the whole Black Doom and the Black Arms situation, Time Eater… kinda sad I never got to meet 'young us' and tell them to make out..., and the Brainwashin' Laser, AKA your eyes when you ask me to clean up the bedroom once in a while."

During all of this, Espio was chuckling more and more at Vector's silly comments, remembering one of his greatest loves about the crocodile – his odd and brash sense of humor.

"So, I ask ya now: shall we go on a new adventure? Just me an' you?"

Espio nodded, beaming.

Knuckles was bawling uncontrollably, with an arm over his eyes - it seemed like rivers of tears were pouring. Rouge looked embarrassed by proximity.

"Alrighty… I know I said I didn't have somethin', but I actually did. It's not as great as yer shuriken, but it's the thought that counts."

Vector pulled something small out of his glove, a card.

"A gift card to the teahouse in Station Square?" questioned Espio. He looked up and smirked. "I expected nothing else. Thank you, Vector."

Vector grinned, and rubbed Espio's hands in his. "I didn't wanna be _completely_ empty-handed, y'know, just in case."

The chameleon chuckled.

"Now that your vows have been given, the rings?" Sonic asked.

"Ooh! I got them!" Charmy called out. He reached under his seat and grabbed his pillow, two rings on top of it. He buzzed over to the two reptiles and held the pillow out.

"Heh, forgot we made Charmy the ring boy," Vector chuckled. He grabbed the two rings as the bee sat back down, taking Espio's flower with him to get it out of their way.

Espio held out his hand as the crocodile took the ring with the peridot gemstone on it, and placed it on the chameleon's ring finger. Espio did the same with Vector, placing the ring with the amethyst gemstone on his imminent spouse's ring finger.

The two stared at each other intently. Vector's gaze softened, eyelids lowering slightly, and Espio looked back at him, appearing happier than he ever had in his life.

"Tails, if you would?" Sonic said.

Tails nodded, got up, and held a clipboard in his hands, handing it and a pen to Sonic.

"By signing this, this will prove that you two are now married by law," Sonic told them, holding out the pen and clipboard.

Vector nodded and grabbed the pen first, signing where the blue hedgehog pointed to. After he signed his name, Vector handed the pen to Espio, who followed suit.

"You two are now married by law, but this calls for the last moment of this ceremony, before Vector and Espio truly become one."

Sonic cleared his throat, tightly gripped the officiant book in his hands (which, given to him by Knuckles, contained the printout as well), and looked at Vector.

"Vector the Crocodile, do you vow to take Espio the Chameleon as your loving husband, 'till death do you part?"

Vector nodded. "I do."

"And Espio the Chameleon, do you vow to take Vector the Crocodile as _your_ loving husband, 'till death do you part?"

Espio grinned and nodded as well. "I do."

Sonic smirked, and closed the book. "Then that's that. By the order of the god, Chaos, I now pronounce you both spouses for life. Vector, you may kiss your husband."

Vector didn't move for a moment, not knowing how he was going to take this first kiss. Trying not to communicate his awkwardness to his husband, he began leaning in slowly toward Espio, being uncharacteristically gentle.

Espio just smirked, and looked at him, unmoving. "Oh, who are we kidding," he said. "Traditional, slow stuff just isn't your thing!"

The purple chameleon wrapped his arms around Vector's neck, jumping up to meet the taller reptile, whose eyes opened for a brief moment to see what Espio was doing. Vector caught the chameleon by his back and held him tight against him, lips locking in the culmination of their wedding, the motion that sealed the deal.

Espio felt Vector gripping him tightly, their chests pressed together. He felt like he was flying, and though Espio was independent and strong, something about the crocodile's arms made him feel so... protected.

Vector held on to his new husband, never wanting to let go, the chameleon's lithe body as light as a pillow to him, but firm all over with lean muscle. He breathed in Espio's spicy, clean, crisp scent, so distinctive and so familiar.

Everyone started to clap as Tails, Charmy, and Cream set off party poppers. Omega opened up his chest to reveal an LCD screen, where the words "CONGLATURATIONS!" scrolled marquee-style on screen (obviously, they'd intended "Congratulations", but Rouge's spelling wasn't on the same level as Charmy's).

Vanilla became emotional seeing the two reptiles' kiss, their relationship taking their first steps into marriage. She turned around to Amy.

"M-May I borrow your handkerchief when you're done with it?" she asked. Vanilla had been crying lightly, just like Amy, who hadn't stopped.

Neither, however, were sobbing as hard as Knuckles, from whose eyes perpetual waterfalls seemed to emerge.

Sonic stepped aside from the two reptiles and walked over to Knuckles, hugging him. He patted his back.

"There, there…" the blue hedgehog said, rolling his eyes but smiling fondly.

He looked over Knuckles' shoulder to see Big, helping Froggy "clap", and Team Dark. Omega was still displaying his message, and Rouge was clapping, however not as hard as the others. While Shadow had his arms crossed, a faint… smirk was on the side of his face. Little did the dark hedgehog know, in the future, he would have to fervently deny that smirk any time Sonic brought it up – and it would be frequent.

The white bat turned to face Sonic.

"That was actually a great speech," Rouge praised. "I'm impressed, Big Blue."

Sonic smiled proudly. "Well, what can I say, I'm just that-"

" _I copied and pasted it to the printout,"_ Omega explained, turning to Rouge. _"It was from the Internet."_

"..."

Sonic left the conversation, and went back to comforting a drunk Knuckles.

* * *

Finally, reluctantly, after what felt like forever to them, Vector and Espio broke away from their kiss. The two smiled and kissed softly one last time.

"Espio, d'ya know what this means?" Vector asked.

"What?"

"It means we're now together forever."

Espio smiled. "You _bet_ it does."


	6. The Dinner

**Author's Note: Hello, everybody! TheHunterPersian here once again! We hope you guys enjoyed last chapter because ughhhhhhhhhuh it was the cutest thing to like read. Don't worry however, more cute is coming our way as the wedding heads into the reception dinner (or lunch? I'm not sure).**

 **Oh, and we also have Chapter 7 done actually! So in about a week, expect another update from us!**

* * *

After the ceremony, everyone sat down at the table for the "wedding reception".

Plates of food scattered across the table; turkey sandwiches cut into fourths, chips, crackers with slices of ham and cheese with which to top them, and a giant bowl of fruit. Along with this, the wedding cake stood in the middle of the table, although it wouldn't be eaten quite yet (everyone was in awe when they saw the cake, Knuckles attempting a few times to grab it for himself). The meal was topped with wine for the adults, and sparkling juice for the kids.

Had it not been for the wedding just moments prior, it would have appeared to be a simple get-together between Sonic and his friends. Of course, with the wedding cake, it was clearly not the case.

As the newlywed couple dug into their meal, Espio stared at his new ring. It was hard to believe that just a few minutes ago, he had gotten married to the one he loved. Vector wasn't his teammate, his friend, or his boyfriend anymore.

He was his _husband._

" _My husband…"_ Espio thought, smiling. _"And I thought I liked the way 'My boyfriend' sounded…"_

"Mmm… this is good food," Vector said while eating a cracker, then one of the sandwich fourths. "Whaddya think, Esp?"

"I agree, this meal is delicious."

Suddenly, Vector stood up, grabbed a plastic spoon, and clinked it against his glass of wine. The sound, while unremarkable due to the spoon's material, drew everyone's attention nonetheless.

"Uh, hey! Is it fine if I could get a moment?" he asked. Everyone stopped talking and looked up at him.

"So uh, me 'n Espio are real happy that ya guys came out today to celebrate our weddin'. It means a lot to us," Vector began.

Espio got up, not wanting to put his husband into the spotlight alone.

"You all have been such good friends to us for the longest time, and we only knew that it was appropriate that you came to see us today," the chameleon said.

"So yeah! From us, we wanna give ya all a big thanks! And well, ya can return back to what yeh were doin'!"

Vector and Espio sat back down, returning to their meal. This time however, the two would be giving each other a little bit of affection every now and again.

Across from them, Sonic grabbed a bunch of the sandwich fourths and placed them into his mouth.

"Sonic, shouldn't you slow down on the sandwiches?" asked Tails. "You still gotta save some for the rest, you know."

"Can't! They're too yummy! These are amazing, Vanilla!" The hedgehog said, putting another sandwich in his mouth.

"I'm surprised you even like something OTHER than chili dogs..." Shadow said, sipping his wine.

Sonic ignored him.

"Why, thank you, Sonic," Vanilla replied, softly blushing. "But, Tails does have a point. You should save some for the rest."

Sonic sighed, and then frowned. "Alright, alright... just this last one."

As Sonic reached into the pile of sandwiches, Amy grabbed his ear.

"Ow ow ow! What the hey, Amy?!" he yelled.

"You better listen well, Sonic! When we get married, I want a wedding as good as Vector and Espio's!"

Sonic became flabbergasted. "W-What do you mean US married?!"

"You know what I'M trying to imply!"

"I-I don't like your insinuation!"

As the two hedgehogs squabbled, Tails and Cream attempted to calm them down as Rouge continued to watch.

 _"I didn't know she wanted a wedding this cheap,"_ the bat thought.

Rouge turned her head and almost spit out her beverage. Knuckles was drinking wine at an alarming rate. He was filling his glass to full, drinking the wine quickly, and doing it again.

"Knuckles! Calm down with the wine!" she scolded. "With all this alcohol you've had today, you're going to end up giving yourself liver damage!"

The drunken red echidna shot a glare and pointed his fist at the white bat. "S-SHUT UP! NO ONE ELSE IS ENJOYING THIS FINE NECTAR FROM THE GODS, SO IF SOMEONE HAS TO DRINK IT, IT'S GOING TO BE ME!"

"Oh, you buffoon, there are MORE people besides you who want something to drink… Besides, it's no wonder you got sloshed so quickly; knowing you, you only drink the water on Angel Island, and nothing else. Your tolerance must be lower than a basement."

Big sat across from Team Dark, feeding Froggy a few pieces of fruit and chips. He looked up and noticed that Omega had nothing in front of him.

"Omega? Do you want something?" Big asked.

"Big, Omega doesn't eat or drink anything," Rouge said, turning her attention away from Knuckles. "Even someone with a LITTLE intelligence knows _that_ much about robots."

It was too late; Big was already pouring wine into a glass. The purple cat handed the glass to the robot.

"Here you go, Omega."

Surprisingly, Omega accepted the glass.

" _Thank you, large purple cat that goes by the name of 'Big',"_ he said.

"Omega, you can't drink! Why did you accept?" Rouge questioned.

Omega turned to face Rouge. _"I did not want to be rude. Therefore, I accepted the gift."_

The white bat stared at Omega for some time before sighing.

"Sometimes, I don't get you…"

As Vanilla grabbed a few chips, she noticed that Shadow hadn't eaten anything on his plate, let alone barely had anything on it to start with.

"Shadow? Aren't you hungry? You've barely touched your food," Vanilla said.

Shadow turned his head to look at the adult rabbit. "As the Ultimate Life Form, I have been genetically made to have all the energy I could possibly need, in my default state. While I _can_ and _do_ eat, I can go without food for days, even weeks," he explained.

Vanilla began to chuckle. "Oh, you young people and your experimental diets."

Shadow's glare turned nasty. "I am MUCH older than _you_ are," he sneered.

Vanilla simply stared at the black hedgehog.

Next to Vanilla, Cream was talking to Charmy across the table after successfully calming down Sonic and Amy. Cheese and Chocola floated above her, sharing a piece of turkey sandwich.

"So, Charmy," the small rabbit girl began. "When did you find out Vector and Espio were getting married?"

Charmy took a break from eating the handful of chips he had, pausing to ponder. "Well, it was late at night when Vector and Espio decided to go to Little Planet for some picnic. I don't know, I didn't go because I wanted to finish my game. Anyway, sometime later, WAYYY past my bedtime, even on the weekend, Vector and Espio return back home, and you know, they look really happy, and I'm like, 'What's up guys!'"

The bee took a breather and a sip of sparkling juice before continuing. "Then they tell me to sit down and I wonder if I'm in trouble. They tell me I'm not before the green one says 'Charmy, things are goin' to be a lot different around here.'"

Cream laughed at Charmy attempting to mimic Vector's gruff voice.

"So then I ask why, and that's when they show me rings on their fingers. And then they tell me that they're engaged, and how they're going to get married. And my first question is 'So, what size dress is Espio wearing?'"

Cream giggled yet again.

"He got SO offended. But it didn't matter in the end. I was happy that they were happy."

"Well, that's good, Charmy! I'm sure they'll be the best parents you've ever had."

Charmy froze when he heard this.

 _Parents…_

* * *

Charmy never really knew his parents. The oldest thing he could remember was him all alone, and coming across Carnival Island. That was when he was five.

From then, the Chaotix took him in. Yet, he only looked at them as caretakers.

Now, with Vector and Espio's wedding… it seemed to take an all new turn. A turn Charmy had never expected.

Vector and Espio were now his… parents…

* * *

"Charmy? Are you okay?" Cream asked.

"Oh! Cream! My bad… I kinda zoned out," Charmy replied. Cream turned to her mother.

"Mommy, you didn't forget about the Brie, did you?"

Vanilla's eyes widened. "Oh! The Brie! Thank you so much for reminding me, sweetie!"

She got up from her seat. "I'll be right back."

With that, Vanilla entered the Chaotix Detective Agency.

Most people decided they'd had a fair share of the delicious food, and began to stare at the cake.

"Boy, does it look good." Tails said.

"It tastes good too!" Charmy replied. "Heck, we had a rui-"

"Charmy!" Vector placed his hand over the bee's mouth. "Ixnay on the ake-cay."

Finally, Vanilla came back, holding a plate full of Brie cheese.

"For our entrée, I fried cheese," she said.

All of a sudden, Knuckles slammed his hands on the table, looking furious and saddened.

"YOU FRIED CHEESE?! YOU MONSTER!"

Cream, scared by Knuckles' outburst, held Cheese in her hands as Chocola hid behind her head.

"M-Mr. Knuckles? Cheese is right here," she said.

"Oh… never mind then…"

Knuckles slurred his words as he slumped back into his chair.

Vanilla cut into the cheese and handed bits and pieces to everyone.

Vector and Espio bit into theirs, and found the garlicky and buttery tasting fried cheese to be delectable.

"Vanilla, this is outstandin'!" Vector exclaimed.

"Agreed, this is very delicious," replied Espio. "You should give me the recipe to this."

"Why thank you two so much. Did anyone else enjoy it?"

A good chunk of the people nodded their heads, and went back for more of the fried Brie cheese. Soon, it was completely gone.

Vector rubbed his belly. "Alrighty, we had a nice little feast. But it's time fer some dessert!"

"I've been waiting for this," Tails commented to Sonic.

Just as Vector got up and grabbed the knife by the wedding cake, Espio stood up.

"Vector? I thought I was going to cut the cake," the chameleon said.

"I thought _I_ was gunna," Vector retorted. "Besides, doesn't the groom cut the cake?"

"We're both grooms, Vector! Well, to an extent anyway, but you know what I'm saying! Besides, I MADE this cake!"

Espio grabbed the knife from Vector's hand.

"Well I'm the more masculine one so I think I getta!"

Vector took back the knife.

" _Already like a married couple…"_ Rouge thought.

"Just because you're the masculine one doesn't mean you automatically get to cut the cake! Hand the knife over!"

"Chaos, are you two REALLY arguing over a knife?" Rouge rolled her eyes. "Careful! I don't want a severed ring finger in my slice of cake!"

"I dunno, Rouge, I think you'd like it a lot! Well, just the ring, not the finger," Charmy commented.

Rouge glared a shut-up glare at the bee, who smiled, trying to act innocent. Vanilla looked confused as Espio snuck a look to his and Vector's "son" to "be quiet".

"In any other case, Espio, since yer distracted, I get to-"

"OH NO YOU DON'T-!"

"Guys, guys!" Sonic yelled, trying to get their attention. Everyone faced him.

"Here's an idea!" Tails suggested, smiling. "If you can't decide on who gets to cut the cake, why don't you BOTH do it?"

Vector and Espio turned to face each other.

"Y'know, Tails has a point," Vector said. "Let's both cut it, Espio. Me and yeh."

Espio nodded.

And with that, Vector raised the knife above the cake, his hand on the handle and Espio's hand over Vector's.

"Ready?" The crocodile asked.

"Ready," replied the fuchsia reptile.

The pair cut into the chocolate wedding cake, serving large pieces to themselves first. They then began to pass pieces to everyone else (sans Omega), even Shadow, despite requesting a smaller piece then the rest.

"Mmm… so good…" Amy said to herself, licking the icing from her spoon.

"God, this cake is bombass. This is delicious, Espio!" Sonic said, going back to eat some more. He stopped when he saw Vanilla staring him down.

"I-I meant, this cake is the bomb! Y-Yeah…"

"Why thank you, Sonic," Espio said. "Don't just praise me though; Vanilla helped me make this cake."

"I knew it! No one has more delicious cakes!" Tails complimented.

Vanilla smiled. "Why, thank you so much, Tails. Did anyone else enjoy the cake?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, even Rouge and Shadow.

"I helped too," Vector said quietly.

"Yes, yes you did." Espio ran a hand along his back.

"I must say, this is an interesting cake," Rouge began. "Normally, you don't serve a wedding cake to your guests – and on some occasions, it isn't even an ACTUAL cake – let alone... chocolate? But for what this is, it's quite delicious. Shadow?" The white bat glanced at the black hedgehog.

"It was good," he said.

"Well, with that 5-star review, you know that Espio and Vanilla made a good cake."

Rouge went back to her glass of wine.


	7. The Glitch

**Author's Note: Bonjour, c'est cosmictruffle.**

 **First things first, thank you for all the kind comments/reviews so far, from both of us! We really appreciate them and read 'em all :)**

 **This chapter was hecka _(sorry for language, Vanilla)_ fun to write. After oodles of fluff and character interaction the pace is changin' just a bit. Seems our couple rarely gets a chance to rest! I'll leave it at that and let y'all see what I mean.**

* * *

Soon after, everyone (minus Omega) having had their fair share of cake and food, were stuffed. There was even still a huge amount of cake waiting to be eaten later. However, the small outdoor wedding was still not over yet.

"So, it's come to my attention that since it's our weddin', some of ya brought us some gifts!" Vector said. "I say it's gift-opening time!"

Everyone got up, and the guests grabbed their gifts that they'd left by the front door (sans Team Dark, and Sonic and Knuckles). The first ones up were Cream and Vanilla.

"Here you go, Misters Vector and Espio!" Cream said, handing the gift to Vector.

"Why thank you, Cream," Espio said.

"Alrighty… let's see what this is…" mumbled Vector.

The crocodile removed the wrapping to find a photo album.

"Cream and I wanted to give you this, knowing that in your new marriage, you two will be making a lot of memories," Vanilla explained. "Surely these memories deserve recording."

"W-Why thank ya, miss!" Vector grinned.

"This is quite thoughtful, and it shall be used, don't you worry about it," Espio said.

The two rabbits smiled as they stepped out of the line, Vector setting the photo album out of the way.

Knuckles bumped Sonic with his elbow. "Psst, Sonic! I bet I know what _kind_ of pictures they'll be taking."

The red echidna cackled out loud, slapping his hand (or glove, depending on how one looks at it) on his thigh. Amy and Tails stared at him as if he were crazy.

"ANYWAY, we're up." Sonic said. "C'mon Knux."

"C-Comin'… and NOT in that way!"

The fighting buddies walked up to the two reptiles. "Wait right here – we've got your gift in the front," Sonic said. He grabbed Knuckles, and sped to the other side of the Detective Agency.

Everyone waited around for what felt like ages.

Vector grumbled, "What on earth is takin' them so long? I'm tempted to-"

Finally, the colors blue and red were visible, emerging from the side of the house. Yet, it was what Sonic and Knuckles were carrying that surprised the newlyweds.

The rivals with a knack for bickering set down a large whisky barrel. Knuckles drunkenly placed his head on it and opened the valve, hoping that more booze would be in it. Sadly for him and happily for all else, it was empty.

"Is that a-?" Vector began.

"Yup! We knew that since you two were getting married, you'd wanna get yourselves piss drunk together!" Sonic began. He got a stern look, predictably, from Vanilla, and shrugged awkwardly.

"A-And if you dooo… be sure to invite meeee…" Knuckles slurred. He slammed his head on the side of the barrel and fell down. Cream looked worried as Big brought him up on his feet.

"Well, this is… rather interesting." Espio looked up at Vector. "Only mystery now is... where are we going to put this?"

"Agreed, but thank ya two, that seems like it must have costed a lot, and ya went the extra mile for it," Vector said, smiling.

"Heh, no problem guys!" Sonic said. He walked to where Team Dark and the two rabbits were.

Just then, something scurried out from under the table.

"Wh-what was that?" Cream asked, startled.

"I don't know," Rouge said. "Sounded like a little baby car."

Knuckles started laughing hysterically at the idea of a little baby car.

"Charmy, didya really have to bring yer remote controlled truck to the weddin' meal?" Vector scolded.

"I didn't!" Charmy protested. He leaned over to Cream to whisper. "Besides, I couldn't have. I hustled it on the schoolyard for a better one. Told the other kid it was a prototype with a laser beam."

"Charmy, you're not a very quiet whisperer," said Espio, sternly. "We'll need to have a talk about your business ventures later."

"Rats," Charmy said. "And I was about to set up a passive income stream..."

However, Tails walked to the table, holding a remote in his hands as a circular device emerged into view from underneath the table.

"Everyone... it's my Room-bot!" Tails said. "I fixed it! I've been standing here proudly with the remote control in my hands, and you were all supposed to see, and it would've spoken for itself, but instead you all had to engage in baseless speculation and unrelated discussion. Now the moment's passed."

"Room-bot?" Shadow repeated. "What is that? Like, some knockoff Korean Roomba or something?"

"It's trademarked, so don't try to copy the name," Tails said loudly, looking stern.

To demonstrate, Tails manipulated the controller and sure enough, the Room-bot zoomed around a bit, sliding to a stop beside Omega.

The larger, more valid robotic device recoiled in what almost looked like fear, jumping back and adopting an aggressive stance.

 _"Threat detected,"_ Omega said, holding out his arm cannon. _"Engaging lock-on mode."_

"It- it's a vacuum cleaner, Omega," Tails assured him. "It's only threatening to dust bunnies."

"Not to _regular_ bunnies, though, right?" Cream said, looking leery.

"Impressive enough, but does it have Bluetooth?" Rouge said. "Or a port I can connect my MP3 player to?"

"Some music would be nice," Espio agreed. "Though not necessary-"

"Yeaaaaah! Blast some gangsta rap up in this b-" Knuckles stopped, he looked at Cream, then at Vanilla, then back at Cream, then back at Vanilla, before finally mumbling, "-backyard… yeah… that's what I meant…"

"A wedding isn't exactly the place for that sort of... _music_ ," Vanilla commented.

Rouge rolled her eyes. " _I_ like hip-hop. Not my _favourite_ kind of music, that'd have to be jazz or something along those lines... but nothing wrong with it."

"There's a time and a place for it," the grown rabbit said, matter-of-factly.

"Miss Judgmental at it again," Rouge whispered, snickering. "Still wanna be mama's little angel, Cream?"

"She's right, though," Cream said, defending her mother. "It'd be weird to play Snoop Hogg at a wedding..."

"Maybe. Okay, probably. But still, kinda close-minded, don't you think? The way she-"

Vanilla cut her off. "I can HEAR you, Rouge. Kindly do not corrupt my daughter, please."

"Sheesh, whatever happened to freedom of speech?" Rouge pouted.

"You were free to say it, but you shouldn't have whispered... _loudly_ , at that. Undermining someone's parenting is not a nice thing to do, nor is raising drama at a wedding. I give Cream plenty of freedom to be who she likes, but I'm sorry if me setting a good example for her somehow offends you."

"How is sneering at hip-hop 'setting a good example'?" The white bat's eyes narrowed.

"I didn't sneer."

"I saw the sneer," Rouge insisted.

"There was no sneer." Vanilla was adamant, looking annoyed, an emotion few at the table had ever seen her display, at least not without one of them swearing first.

"I SAW it. Didn't anyone else see the sneer?" The bat looked around for support.

"I guess. I wasn't really paying attention," Shadow answered.

She made eye contact with Knuckles.

"Yes! ...No!" The echidna bit his lip, looking down with indecision. "...Maybe?"

"Well, which is it?" Rouge demanded.

"I don't know..." Knuckles faltered. "Can you repeat that question?"

"Ugh." Rouge leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs, followed by her arms. "Fine, you win this round, Vanilla."

 _" **I** have Bluetooth. You and Shadow programmed me to have it, Rouge,"_ Omega said, sounding left out. His eyes seemed to have a saddened look (for a robot, anyway).

"Yeah, but you're old news!" Charmy said. "This Korean Roomba is WAY cooler, and he doesn't talk back either!"

"What makes you assume it's a 'he', Charmy?" Amy asked.

"I... dunno?"

"It's a pretty simple question," Rouge said.

"What's wrong with assuming he's a he?" Charmy asked.

"Well, Charmy-" Vanilla began.

"You're all making me feel uncomfortable!" Charmy said quickly, getting visibly defensive.

"He IS a he," Tails said. "Just like all my robots."

"Why don't you make a girl robot?" Cream said.

"Because then I'd have to use extra metal, to give her-" He paused. "…long hair."

"Why, if the machine is androgynous, does it _still_ have to be a boy, and why does it need girly characteristics to be a lady robot?" Rouge pestered.

"Look, I don't know, okay?!" Tails said, stomping his foot on the ground. "I've never questioned my fundamental assumptions about gender! I just close my eyes, pretend it's not an issue, and enjoy not having to wear pants while the four of you do!"

"Typical," Amy said. "We're irrelevant, Rouge."

The white bat sighed. "We're not, Amy. There's just a lot of ignorance in this world."

"Amazingly, Rouge... I'd have to agree with you, there," Vanilla said, nodding.

"I concur," Cream said.

"I feel like there's some subtext here," Sonic said. "But it's not really relevant to my life whatsoever, so I'm just gonna agree that some tunes would be jammin' right about now. Might help ease all this unnecessary bickering. Maybe that 'gangsta rap' Knuckles suggested doesn't seem all that bad right now…"

"Aaaaanyway," Vector said, feeling the tension ramping, "Tails was just showing us his cute little contraption - wait, Tails, yer scarin' Omega!"

 _"I am NOT frightened,"_ Omega argued, though his stance had become defensive-looking as the Room-bot circled him like prey.

"Uhhh... I'm not controlling it right now," Tails frowned. He fiddled with the controller, but nothing happened.

"What's going on?" Sonic said.

 _"I turned on my Bluetooth because I didn't want to be upstaged, and he started going berserk!"_ Omega exclaimed.

"I didn't know Omega could exclaim," Shadow remarked. "He must be really nervous."

 _"I do not experience the emotions you attribute to me,"_ Omega said unconvincingly. _"All of you seem to be projecting. Yes, that is probably it – stop projecting, irrational flesh-bots."_

"We've got bigger fish to fry than Omega's obvious emotional issues," Charmy stated. "We'll find a therapist for _all_ of Team Dark after we deal with the present problem!"

"Why do _I_ need a therapist?" Rouge scowled.

"I dunno, kleptomania?" Cream said. "Charmy's right! We have a crazy Room-bot on our hands!"

"Thank you for using its proper name, but rest assured, it's probably just a Bluetooth glitch. He's harmless," Tails assured Cream.

"Well, if you say so-" Cream looked uncertain.

Just then, Froggy, who'd been staring intently at the rotating robot until now, decided to leap off the table and land on top of it.

Big gasped. "Froggy, no!" he yelped.

Presumably the frog was hoping for a fun ride.

The Room-bot went insane. It zoomed around frantically, trying to remove the amphibian from atop itself.

"This thing is -hic- kinda aggressive," Knuckles remarked, standing in front of the table. He was sidestepping and hopping over the Roomba with increasing difficulty, as were many in its haphazard path.

Finally, the Room-bot rolled straight between Knuckles' legs, just as he was trying to step back out of its way. The side of his foot grazed the mobile vacuum, tripping him.

"Ahh!" Knuckles yelled, arms flailing madly, momentum carrying him backward... against the table...

Right into the wedding cake.

"Oh, NO!" Espio exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"T-The- the cake..." Vector's jaw dropped.

"W-We... we worked so hard on it…" Espio said, shaking visibly.

"A-All that rushing…" Vanilla sighed.

Knuckles pushed himself up, getting off the table. He brushed some cake off his chest and face. "I- I'm sorry, everyone..." The red echidna looked down at himself, disoriented. "Man… look at all this -hic- cake… that _pile of junk_ tripped me-"

 _ **NYOOM!**_

A laser beam swooshed past, lighting up Knuckles' face and blowing his quills up into the air. It missed his snout by mere inches.

"Aah!" Knuckles shouted, jumping in the air.

"Wha- what was THAT?" Sonic said. He jumped up on the table to see what was happening.

"Sonic, get down from there!" Amy yelled.

"Table manners aren't our concern right now, Amy! I need to see where that came from-"

They all heard the sound of another beam firing.

It hit the bottom of the table, which promptly exploded, sprawling upward in pieces, food flying everywhere.

"ACK!" Sonic was thrown into the air and away from the table's remainder at high speed.

"Sonic!" exclaimed Espio, Amy and Tails simultaneously.

"The CAKE, AGAIN!" exclaimed Vector and Charmy, in perfect sync, pointing at it as it hurtled into the air along with its platter.

Espio glared at them.

"And, SONIC!" The two added, not quite as simultaneously or as enthusiastically as before.

The blue hedgehog flew backwards into a tree, passing out on impact. He slid down the wooden surface, bark peeling off as he did. Sonic hit the ground with a thump.

"Sooooonic!" Tails rushed to his friend's side. Amy did too.

Knuckles tried to run over, but slipped on some of the cake that was covering his entire body, and landed flat on his face in the dirt. "The world... is spinning..." he said, seeing birds fly above his head.

 _ **NYOOM!**_

"TAILS! Get BACK here! Yer thingy's on the fritz!" Vector yelled, running in circles as the Room-bot chased after him, now firing lasers frequently. Froggy still rode on its back.

 _ **NYOOM! NYOOM!**_

"TAILS, I swear to Chaos, if your VACUUM CLEANER kills my husband on our wedding day, I WON'T be afraid to make your head a dart board for my shurikens!" yelled Espio. He was chasing after the Room-bot, trying to distract it from Vector, to no avail.

 _ **NYOOM NYOOM NYOOM!**_

"Froggyyyyyyy! Come back! Be carefullll!" Big shouted, chasing after Espio who was chasing after Froggy and Room-bot who were chasing after Vector.

 _WHOOSH!_

"How FAST is that thing? And WHY is it firing lasers!?" Cream exclaimed.

"That wasn't meant to happen!" Tails huffed, running back, grabbing the remote he'd dropped upon seeing Sonic's fate. "It's not working! The remote isn't working!" He began to fidget with the controls, but to no avail. "Come on! I had this tested, too! Why is it acting like this?!"

 _ **NYOOM! NYOOM!**_

"How does a Roomba fire lasers by ACCIDENT?" Rouge asked, incredulous. She'd hidden behind the table, turned on its side, and was crouching warily away from the scene, along with Shadow. Both the bat and black hedgehog were occasionally ducking out of the way of stray beams.

 _"Lasers are NEVER an accident,"_ Omega blared, firing bullets from his arm cannon. All of them missed, hitting the ground and leaving smoking scorch marks in the grass.

 **SZZZZT!**

"Omega! You're RUINING our backyard!" Charmy cried, zipping and zooming out of the way of various beams shot by the Room-bot. "That piece of crap is a better shot than you are!"

"Charmy! Language!" Vanilla said, finally making her way through the lasers to Cream, whom she swept up into her arms and drew away from the hubbub, behind the table with Rouge and Shadow.

"I meant, it wasn't supposed to FIRE them! The laser functionality was fully-planned from the beginning!" Tails yelled.

Everyone stared at Tails. Several mouths opened.

"WHAT!?" Amy shouted.

"Are you SERIOUS!?" Charmy said.

"WERE YOU TRYING TO KILL US?!" yelled Espio.

"Well... I didn't plan for them to fire off without my control, obviously!" Tails said, agitated. He vigorously assaulted the remote, to no avail.

"WHY THE HELL DIDJA PUT LASERS IN A GODDAMN ROOMBA!? AND SORRY VANILLA!" Vector was visibly angry.

"I-I thought it'd be cool!" Tails said.

"Well, honestly, if they hadn't malfunctioned you'd probably all be oohing and aahing right now," Shadow observed.

"He- he's probably right," Charmy agreed, panting.

Amy was beside Sonic, having lifted him to a sitting position and moved him behind the tree, away from the attack. The pink hedgehog was feeling the back of his head. "Sonic... please, wake up."

Knuckles crawled over wearily, feeling more able to avoid laser blasts this way than by standing on unsteady feet. Though, the experience seemed to have sobered him up a bit. "Is- is Sonic all right?" he asked.

"He has a pulse and is breathing," Amy replied. "But he's out cold and I'm worried he might have a concussion."

"Tails, yer weddin' gift SUCKS!" Vector shouted. "Couldn't ya have just brought booze like a normal person!?"

"Vector, dear! Be nice!" Espio scowled, still running after him.

"Not my fault the kid's a showoff," Vector grumbled.

"Hey!" Tails yelled, crossing his arms. "Espio's right! Be nice to me! I did take you all the way to Little Planet to get that flower for Espio that time! Did you think I WANTED this to be happening right now?"

Vector sighed and rolled his eyes, raising his hands in the air. "All right, all right, I'm sorry, Tails! Just fix this thing!"

"I'm TRYING!"

All of a sudden, a yell from the other side of the yard startled everyone. It was Big.

" **FROGGY!** "

Big had had enough. He pulled out his fishing pole and cast the line, attempting to grab Froggy.

It hooked on to the Room-bot instead. Froggy leapt off and hopped back to his owner as Big started reeling the robot in.

Big spun the reel, and the Room-bot fought against it.

Wheels rotating rapidly, but gaining little traction, the vacuum cleaner was leaving tire marks in the ground. It threatened to snap the line.

The fat purple cat yanked back on the fishing rope, spinning the reel as fast as he could.

The Room-bot came to a complete stop, before being pulled backward and up into the air. It seemed to freeze in place for a moment, high up and in line with the sun.

Omega stared at it as through his eyes, his internal lock-on system activated.

" _Target acquired. Sights locked on, engaging combat mode,"_ he said.

The robot began to fire away quickly, each bullet hitting the Room-bot with a loud clang. It all seemed to happen in slow motion, thanks in part to Omega's rapid fire.

After many hits, Omega finished it off with a blast from his beam cannon.

 _ **NYOOM!**_

One quick shot was all it took.

The Room-bot exploded into bits, like a gaudy firework.

Everyone ducked, avoiding the shrapnel. It popped a couple of balloons, though.

After some time, the smoke cleared as the Room-bot was reduced to nothing but rubble.

Omega turned to face his teammates.

" _Target eliminated, returning to normal status."_

"Is… is it over?" Charmy asked, poking his head from under the table on the porch. Vanilla put down Cream as the two rabbits, plus Rouge and Shadow looked up from the ruined table. Cheese and Chocola shook from fright as they emerged from behind Cream.

"I think so…" said Vector. Tails walked over to what was left of his Room-bot and got on his knees, picking up the charred remains.

"I'm glad that everyone is okay but… weeks of working on this thing… gone to waste…" the two tailed fox moped.

A gasp interrupted the moment.

"Sonic's waking up!" Amy yelled. The blue hedgehog rubbed his head as he got up.

"W-What happened?" he said, sounding half-asleep.

"You got knocked out after the Room-bot exploded the table," explained Espio.

Amy suddenly hugged Sonic tightly, crying. "Oh, Sonic! Here I was, worried that you were going to die! But you're okay!"

"Hey hey, Amy, I'm alright. Argh… my head and body hurt like nuts, but I think I can do fine…" Sonic said. He looked over to Tails, seeing him pick up the remains of the Room-bot.

"Wait here." The blue hedgehog gently extracted himself from Amy's arms.

Tails looked up to see Sonic, limping over to him.

"Hey, bud, look on the bright side," Sonic said, approaching his best friend. "Even if things didn't go the way you wanted, you still gave us an amazing show. Sure, even if I did get hurt."

He put his hand on the young fox's shoulder, who smiled in return.

"Well," began Rouge, wiping the dirt from her clothes. "I certainly haven't been to many weddings myself, but I must say, this is by far the least... _lackadaisical_ one I've attended."

"Geez, what's with all these big words today?" Sonic complained. "I didn't know I needed to bring a dictionary to a wedding. Is that even a word?"

"It is, Sonic," said Tails. He sighed when he looked at the Room-bot again.

"Man, what a _cockamamie_ excuse for a word," grumbled the blue hedgehog.

"Remember, Rouge, we're at the wedding of two members of Team Chaotix – their name is basically 'chaos'. Did you expect something traditional?" Shadow said.

"Well, I didn't expect my life to be at risk, let me tell you that," replied the white bat.

"The Chaotix have a way of... _surpassing_ expectations," Vanilla said.

Espio and Vector smiled, faces a mixture of tiredness and mild embarrassment, holding hands.

"You guys are acting like it's all _their_ idea," Sonic said. "Give Tails _some_ credit for nearly destroying everything."

Now the fox was the one who looked bashful.

"Sorry, guys-" he began.

"Tails, thanks for keepin' things interestin'," Vector said, strutting over to pat him on the back. He wrapped an arm around the fox's shoulder and gave him a noogie, a bit too aggressively for Tails's taste. "Yoooou lil' scamp."

"Gl- glad I could... entertain?" Tails said, laughing nervously.

Vector's voice lowered. "It was _so_ entertainin'... that I'm gonna forget about how much it's gonna cost to fix and replace all this stuff!" His large smile looked less genuine and charming than usual.

"Heh... heh..." Tails looked around at the backyard, surveying the damage. It looked like a tropical storm had passed through.

"My next few flights to Little Planet better be free, though," Vector murmured, so only Tails could hear him.

The fox nodded.

Meanwhile, Big held Froggy, petting him. "I got you, Froggy," he said. "No robot is gunna hurt you now."

Vector returned to Espio, and they looked at the backyard, which had been completely decimated in a matter of minutes. The two sighed.

"Even durin' our weddin', things can never tire down," sighed Vector.

"Agreed. We really should save up some money for a honeymoon, and get away from the chaos for a bit," replied his chameleon husband.

As soon as Rouge heard them, she got a twinkle in her eye, as a new idea popped into mind.


	8. The Shoot

**Author's Note: Yo, TheHunterPersian again! So here we are, chapter 8, if you can believe it or not, we're actually coming close to the end of this story, sad I know, but hey, all good things come to an end. Me and cosmictruffle hope you've been enjoying this fic so far, but for now, let's let it continue!**

 **Today's chapter is rather short, but don't worry, it will build up to what's going to happen next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

Despite the complete ruination of the backyard, the cake, and many other things, that wasn't going to stop the two reptiles.

Vector summed it up with, "The weddin' must go on!"

Fortunately, the remaining two gifts had been by the wall, nowhere near the table that had exploded during the Room-bot's rampage. Amy grabbed a small box she left on the patio's table and a card from her dress.

"I gave this to you when I got here, but you didn't open it immediately due to Team Dark's arrival. But trust me; I went through a lot getting this for you, and, well… I hope you two enjoy it," Amy said.

"Thank you, Amy… it must be something monumental," Espio replied.

"Alrighty… let's see here…" Vector opened the wrapping revealing a wooden box. The two reptiles looked at it, puzzled.

"What is it?" asked the crocodile.

"Open it up," replied the pink hedgehog.

Vector opened the box, and the realization clicked.

It was a music box.

There were two figures in the middle, caricatures of him and Espio, both wearing tuxedos and spinning around to the music box, to a rendition of a song that sounded familiar to Vector. He couldn't place it at first, but when he heard it more, he put two and two together.

"Hey, Espio! Look!" He pointed to the music box. "Ha ha! It's our old theme! Never thought I'd hear that again!"

Espio looked at the figures of him and Vector with amazement. "This is so thoughtful of you, Amy! Thank you very much."

"Agreed, this is so… lovely…" The crocodile was mesmerized by the piece of work before him.

The pink hedgehog was smiling brightly. "I knew you two would love it! And here, that's not just it – I've gotten this for you too!"

Amy handed the card to Vector and Espio. This time, Espio opened the envelope, and pulled out the card. The card had an illustration of two bears cuddling, underneath text that read "Wishing you a happy marriage for the rest of your life…"

The chameleon then opened the card and found a few bills, surprising him. The text inside the card read "…may everlasting happiness come to you!" and, in Amy's handwriting below it, "Happy wedding day! Love you lots!"

Vector and Espio smiled, and looked up at the pink hedgehog. "Thank you, so much…" they said simultaneously.

"With pleasure." Amy hugged the both of them, one after the other.

And with that, Amy walked over to everyone else as Vector and Espio set down their gifts from her.

Finally, the last person with a gift was Big. The round purple cat had a large canvas and held it in front of the two.

"Here, this is from me and Froggy. We made this together," he said, brimming with pride.

Vector and Espio looked at the painting in utter confusion.

It looked like a child had just smeared all sorts of paints over a canvas and called it "art".

Big and (more surprisingly) Froggy had signatures on the bottom right of the canvas.

Still, they didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"Eheh… that's… real nice, Big…" Vector lied.

"Y-Yes… very… you and Froggy have a very-" Espio spoke, stopping for a moment as he noticed all the print marks on the painting, most likely Froggy hopping on it. "A very… _sophisticated_ way of painting."

Everyone nodded awkwardly.

"You all really think so?" asked Big.

"Y-Yeah!" Sonic replied.

"Rather… abstract, I think, is the word," Vanilla mumbled.

From the group of people, Rouge snickered at the painting, making fun of its quality in her mind. However, her thoughts stopped when she saw Knuckles walk up to it.

"Oh… oh my god… this may be… the BEST painting I've EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE! I MEAN LOOK AT THIS! IT'S THE ARTISTIC CREATION OF THE CENTURY! I MEAN-"

"You've never BEEN to an art museum, have you?" asked Rouge.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT! MY POINT IS-" He threw his hands up in the air. "Never MIND." He plonked down on the grass and crossed his arms.

The white bat shook her head. "Geez, and here I was thinking he sobered up…"

Charmy took a look at the painting before commenting.

" _WOW._ Did they just swallow paint and crap all over the canvas, or what!?"

"CHARMY! LANGUAGE!" scolded Vanilla. "And that is a disrespectful thing to say!"

"I dunno… the kid DOES have a point," commented Rouge.

Vanilla avoided acknowledging her, not wanting to get into a fight with her after the petty argument about hip hop.

After giving the painting to the two reptiles, Big rejoined the group.

Vector and Espio moved their heads to face Team Dark.

"Yo guys, you got somethin'?" the crocodile asked.

Rouge turned beet red. "Oh, well, I DID get you something but oh dear oh my, it was stolen from me."

Vector and Espio could tell she was lying, but let her off from that.

Charmy snickered. "We _do_ know how often thievery plays a role in your life, so it's to be expected."

She gave him a dirty look but didn't respond to the comment. "And well, you know Shadow and Omega; they came so they could tag along with me, and y'know, didn't really bring any magical sort of present."

"Ah, well okay," replied Espio. "Don't worry; we won't pry too much about it."

"So, that's all the gifts!" Vector remarked, clapping his hands together. "Is there anything left on the agenda? I don't _think_ so, at least..."

"So we're in agreement? We're skipping it?" Espio said quietly, nudging Vector. "He looks as though he's forgotten."

"Yeah. Let's end this wedding on a _good_ note," Vector mumbled, eyes on Knuckles, who was still sitting down on the grass, slowly dozing off.

Espio nodded. Loudly, he began, "Well, I think that's all-"

"Actually, that's not _quite_ all," Vanilla piped up. "I think you two have forgotten a crucial wedding moment!"

The crocodile looked panicked. "Uh, Miss, ixnay on the-"

She held the camera she'd asked Cream to get earlier that day.

"Oh..." Vector rubbed the back of his neck, sighing with relief.

"Yay! It's time for a photo shoot!" Cream hopped around happily.

Vanilla nodded. "See, I'd like us all to take a few pictures."

"ALL?" questioned Rouge.

"Yes, Rouge, all."

The bat sighed. "Well, guess we're stuck here for a while. Might as well kick back and relax before I head up for pictures."

"I'm not a photogenic person," said Shadow, "So I'm gonna skip out."

 _"Agreement with Shadow,"_ said Omega, in his monotonous voice.

"First, Vector and Espio, I want you two to take a series of pictures, okay?" Vanilla asked, turning the camera on.

"Alrighty, we can do that," replied Vector.

"And now, we've even got an album to keep them in," Espio remarked.

The first two photos were rather normal, a simple hug for the first one, and Vector holding Espio bridal style, moon flower in between his jaws for the second one.

"Okay, this next photo is very important, you two," she began. "This is going to be your wedding photo. If you two feel you ready, tell me, otherwise, make yourselves look as good as possible."

"Nah, we're good, right, Espio?" replied Vector. "We're both pretty consistently handsome."

His chameleon husband nodded, chuckling.

"Alright, well, here-"

"WAIT, WAIT!" Charmy interrupted. Everyone turned to face Charmy.

"Wait right here! I've got something for you!"

The bee buzzed back inside the house. Everyone waited for around a minute before Charmy came back, holding a poster.

"Here, I made this for you specifically for this! Hold this up when Vanilla takes your wedding picture!"

He handed the poster to Vector and Espio. Written with marker in large words read:

"JUST MARRIED"

Vector and Espio held the poster board in front of them, both looking embarrassed, yet still lovingly looking at each other as Vanilla pressed the button, and out popped out the photo. The married reptilian couple looked at the image, opened their new photo album, and placed the photo inside on a page designed to hold only one image.

"There we go," said Vector.

Espio smiled before feeling something hug his leg. He looked down to see Charmy, looking up at him.

Vanilla took another picture of the Chaotix, as if it were a famiy picture.

 _Strange… family…_

Now that he and Vector were married, this meant they had full parental rights of Charmy, and they treated him like he _was_ their son. Espio took a step back and realized: Team Chaotix was no longer just a team.

 _They were a family now._

Espio looked at the bee and the crocodile, his new family, smiling contently.

After that, many more pictures were taken, some of the two with their friends, solo pictures, etc. They even woke up Knuckles for a couple of half-asleep shots, not wanting to exclude him.

Shadow and Omega sat away from the group, silently.

"You guys look like the high school loners who think they appear cool, when in reality they look like dweebs," Charmy said, flying over for a moment between shots. "Well, _one_ high school loner, sitting by the vending machine."

 _"I do not_ normally _dispense food or beverages... however, in special circumstances-"_

"And you're like the annoying, overzealous team mascot that every jock wants to beat up," Shadow answered, interrupting Omega's reference.

"Good thing there're only nerds here, then. Unless you consider skating around in glorified Heelys a sport?" Charmy giggled.

"They're NOT Heelys! They're-"

"Can it. I don't care about the physics of your giant skatey-shoes. I'm going to leave now that I've gotten a couple one-liners in - I forgot that you guys are really insufferable." With that, Charmy flew away.

 _"If Rouge had joined us in our non-participation, perhaps we would appear more trendy,"_ Omega mused aloud. _"Extended exposure to both of you has taught me that she is effortlessly cool, while you are a bore. Perhaps, had she sat with us, we wouldn't have had that unpleasant encounter with the bee child, and would have maintained a higher level of social standing within this crowd. Alas."_

"Hmmph." Shadow rolled his eyes.

Vector and Espio filled the album with more and more wedding pictures.

"What great memories these will make," said Espio, admiring a few of the Polaroid's prints.

"I agree," replied Vector, just as Espio placed another photo into the album.

However, Vector suddenly stopped, and grabbed the photo his husband put down.

"Vector?"

The crocodile looked at the image, a picture of him, Espio, and Sonic, and pointed to a ball shaped object in the corner.

"Hey, Espio… what is this?"

"I'm not too sure…"

"What's wrong, guys?" asked Tails.

"Somethin'... ain't right… this image has a picture of a ball lookin' thing in the corner…"

Vector turned the pages and noticed more images had it.

"What the?" questioned Espio. "Why do these images have this shape in them? Does it mean something?"

"Maybe it's a UFO!" Charmy exclaimed.

Sonic took a look at the images before freezing. "Uh… guys? I think I might know who our culprit is…"

Espio's ninja sense suddenly kicked into gear. His mouth opened slightly with the realization of impending danger.

He tackled Vector to the ground, narrowly avoiding a beam of laser light.


	9. The Invasion

**Author's Note: Howdy all! We draw nearer to the finale as an enemy ups the ante. Not much else to say on this, except yay writing through 100% awfullest flu ever!**

 **P.S. Yes, if any of you got it, in the last chapter Omega was referencing TheHunterPersian's awesome college-AU fanfic, _Transfer,_ which you should all go and read posthaste! I added in that little reference after Hunter was finished writing the chapter, I thought it fit in perfectly :)**

 **Enjoy, dear readers, and I will go back to my hot chocolate and sweater-in-bed-with-heat-on-full madness!**

* * *

Everyone immediately got out of the way.

"Whoa!"

Vector hit the ground, landing on his stomach, body frozen in momentary shock. Espio was on top of him.

"Are you okay?" Espio asked quickly.

"Y-yeah. Yeh okay too?" responded the large green reptile.

"Yes."

Vector started to rise. "I thought that dumb vacuum was-"

He was interrupted by a familiar voice. "Blast! I wanted to get in a pre-emptive strike!"

"Eggman!" Sonic said.

Everyone stiffened. They put on a defensive stance as the ball-shaped vehicle came closer to the gang. Dr. Eggman looked down upon the group as Orbot and Cubot stood next to him.

"Yes, it's me! Hellooo, everyone! A little birdy told me there was a wedding going on, so why not come and crash it?"

He floated down in his Eggmobile, staying relatively out of reach.

"So… Eggman was the ball shaped figure in the photos…" Espio muttered.

"You've got 10 seconds to explain yourself before I beat the living daylights outta you," said the blue hedgehog.

Seeming to ignore Sonic at first, Eggman turned his head to look at the pink hedgehog.

"Sorry, Amy! I know you've been waiting for this moment for a long, long time, but it looks like Sonic's about to elope with a guided missile!"

"Huh?" Amy said.

He looked back at the blue hedgehog. "And now, Sonic! I'm here to kidnap your bride, and force her to do my bidding! And none of you can stop me!"

"It's a shame really, you two were made for each other," said Orbot.

Sonic ignored what the red robot said. "'Bride'? What on earth are you talking about, Eggman?!" The blue hedgehog asked, quills bristling.

"Your bride! Amy! This is your wedding, isn't it?!"

"W-What?! I'm not getting married to Amy!" Sonic stuck out his tongue in a mock expression of disgust.

"I wish..." Amy muttered to herself.

"Wait, what?" said Orbot, confused.

"Then, if you two aren't getting married, WHO IS?!" Eggman yelled.

"THEY are." Tails pointed to Vector and Espio.

The evil doctor looked dumbfounded. "...Oh."

"Well… that's unexpected," commented Cubot.

"Yeah, and thanks for disturbing our wedding, Eggman." Espio said. "You weren't invited."

"Tsk, tsk. How rude." The mad doctor pressed a button inside his machine. "Regardless of whose wedding it is, and even if I didn't even know about whoever's relationship, since I'm already here, I guess I'll just take care of ALL of you here and now! All my enemies in one place, quite convenient!"

A slot opened underneath the Eggmobile, releasing a missile.

"No!" Tails shouted.

Sonic leapt high above the crowd, landing on top of the missile. Its course became confused with something atop it, and started moving erratically.

"Go, Sonic!" Vector yelled.

"Be careful!" said Amy.

Sonic leapt off just in time as the missile headed straight for the same tree he'd hit himself. It exploded into many pieces as he landed on the ground.

"That all you've got, Eggman?" challenged Sonic.

"Yeah, not like our yard can get any worse," Vector sighed.

Eggman fired three more.

"You asked for it!" he cackled. "Get a load of this!"

Everyone ran for cover. Sonic dodged one of the missiles, but he was still dizzy from his previous injury, too close to it, and the explosion knocked him into the air.

"Sonic!" Amy yelled.

He hit the ground, fainting.

"Hahahah! One down! And the most annoying one, too! You'll all be pieces of cake compared to him!"

Eggman shot another round of missiles. And another.

Everyone was becoming increasingly tired and finding it harder to avoid them.

Tails barely leapt out of the way of one.

Knuckles had managed to hide behind a bush.

Amy tried to throw her hammer up at him, but he remained too high in the air to reach.

" _Subject detected; Dr. Eggman, ultimate eradication is prime objective!"_ Omega exclaimed. The robot was firing bullets at Eggman, barely denting the sturdy, fast-moving Eggmobile.

Big cradled Froggy in his arms, yelling as he ran away from any missiles coming towards him.

Much like during the Room-bot incident, Vanilla scooped up Cream, Cheese, and Chocola, getting them inside the Chaotix Detective Agency. While she knew her daughter could fight, things were much more dangerous now that Sonic was out.

Rouge tried to fly up and attack him, but after nearly being shot multiple times she gave up.

"We'll never get him," Shadow panted. "There's no way to get up there… Damn… and just when I thought I didn't need my Chaos Emerald… Chaos Control would be perfect here…"

Charmy buzzed quickly away from the missiles coming towards him. "GET AWAY, GET AWAY, GET AWAY!" he yelled. "VECTOR! ESPIO! HELP!"

Vector and Espio were behind the tree, a shell of its former self with scorch marks and holes everywhere. They held each other close.

"Is this it?" Espio said.

"Maybe not…"

"How are we going to reach him then?"

Vector pulled out the shuriken Espio had given him. "I really appreciate this gift, Espio, but I think ya need to fulfill its legacy, Esp."

Espio's eyes widened. "I don't think I can throw it that far, though. And if I could, it would barely make a dent."

"If you were up close to him, do ya think ya could hit a soft spot in his machine?"

Espio glanced around the tree at Eggman. "If I broke through the window in the front, perhaps I could damage the control panel. But that's impossible from this distance and angle..."

"I ain't talkin' about throwin' it from down here. I'm gonna getcha up to his level, then you take him out."

"How?"

"Hop in my mouth. We're gunna bust out an old move."

Espio's face lit up with recognition. "Oh! That!"

"Ready?"

"Wait... do I REALLY have to get covered in your saliva?"

"Wouldn't be anythin' new for you, hon." Vector stuck his tongue out.

"...Fair enough, I guess."

"Make yerself inviz' before he sees what's goin' on," Vector suggested.

Espio nodded. Activating his Chroma Camo ability, the chameleon vanished from sight, the space he occupied rippling for a moment, before it stabilized as if nothing had been there.

Vector opened his mouth wide, head upward.

Espio leapt, curling into a ball and landing in Vector's open maw. Vector puffed his chest up.

"Ptooo!"

He launched the rolled-up Espio into the air from his mouth like a cannon.

Espio uncurled mid-air and kept shooting upward. His ascent slowed as he rose a bit higher than Eggman.

It was then that Espio made himself visible.

Their eyes met.

"Death will not do us part today, Doctor. Or in other words, _**don't**_ interrupt the day I'm getting married."

Eggman's mouth opened, but before he could respond, Espio revealed the shuriken in his hand.

The chameleon tossed it.

As his purple frame descended, the shuriken went through the glass window on the front of Eggman's vehicle, jamming into the control panel with a steely noise.

Electricity crackled.

"Oh no!" Eggman frantically messed with the controls, but nothing happened. He could still steer, but nothing was saving him now.

"This isn't the last you'll see of me! I'll get you next time, Sonic! And the rest of you too!" Eggman shouted, hovering away, his Eggmobile slowly descending, smoke coming out of it. Its dying noises grew louder as something sparked. Orbot and Cubot fell out from the Eggmobile.

Espio was falling. He looked up at the sky, wondering where Eggman would land.

" _Please, don't hit the house,"_ he begged mentally.

Just then, he felt strong, large arms catch him, stopping his fall. He looked up at his husband.

"Hello again." The chameleon smiled.

"Well hi there, beautiful," Vector chuckled.

They heard the explosion as the doctor's vehicle finally gave up. Thankfully, it was much past their house when it did.

"Yer all sticky," Vector commented.

Espio shrugged. "Well, whose fault is that?"

"Always mine... on that note, how come we've never brought _that_ move into the bedroom?"

"Vector, dear!" Espio turned bright red, chuckling. "Be serious! Everyone's watching!"

As the crocodile let his husband go, everyone saw Orbot and Cubot, who were still in the Chaotix's backyard. When the married couple stared at them, the two robot's eyes became full of worry.

"Eheh heh… well, we just wanted to say, congratulations on your marriage, Vector and Espio…" said Orbot, rather quickly. He put his hands together and gave a fake smile.

"Y-Yeah! I'm sure you two are gunna be real happy together!" added Cubot.

"Anyway, if you will excuse us, we shall be going now!"

Orbot and Cubot quickly made their way to Dr. Eggman's ruined Eggmobile.

"Dr. Eggman! Don't leave without us!" called out Cubot.

Everyone stared at the two robots.

"Well, that happened," commented Espio.

Attendees started to approach after taking their attention off from Orbot and Cubot, a bit shell-shocked but no worse for wear. First Charmy, who flew over quickly and hugged the pair tightly.

"Y-You guys! I was so worried about you!" Charmy was softly crying. "But you're okay! You're okay…"

The bee sobbed a little more as the two reptiles rubbed their son's head. "Dun worry 'bout it, Charmy, it'll take more than Eggman to take us both down," Vector said.

Tails, after finding out Sonic was coming to, rushed over to tell the family, "That was BADASS!"

"Tails, language," Vanilla called out as she, her daughter, and the two chao exited the house, though with a smile this time. Holding Cream's hand, she walked over to everyone and brushed some dirt off of her long dress and slowly walked over.

"Sorry..."

"But you're right," Vanilla agreed. "Thank you for saving all of us!"

"Are you and Cream alright?" Tails asked.

Both of the rabbits nodded.

"Good job, guys!" Big said, ambling over with Froggy still in his arms. The amphibian seemed to be shaking. "I hope he didn't destroy our art for you!"

"Y-Yeah," Vector said.

"We... we hope so too," Espio nodded. He looked over and saw it on the ground, perfectly intact. "Oh, how wonderful..."

"Both Tails and I wanted to fly someone up there, to attack him," Cream said. "But he would've shot us right out of the air. Of course, I don't think Mommy would like that very much…"

"The invisibility was a great idea," Tails said. "I hope you only use that power for good," he added, laughing.

"I'll never tell," Espio joked.

They all laughed as Rouge approached, with Shadow and Omega behind her. "Sorry we didn't help more. You kind of upstaged our coolness, there... so, kudos."

" _You bested me at beating Dr. Eggman… however; the doctor has been bested for today. Should I say what you fleshlings call, 'good job'?"_ said Omega.

"Y-Yeah…" Vector nodded.

Shadow had his arms crossed, looking like his usual self. The ultimate life form turned to face the married couple.

"You guys did good…" he muttered sternly. Vector and Espio smiled at each other.

"You know when you get complimented by Shadow that you did a good job," Espio whispered to his husband.

Next came Amy, who was supporting Sonic as he hobbled over. His arm was over her shoulder as she held him up.

"Guys, I've been so useless in both these fights," Sonic moaned. "First, I get blown up by a destructive Roomba, and then I get hit by one of Eggman's missiles. I dunno what to say..."

"You brought booze. You'll never be useless," Vector comforted him.

"Speaking of alcohol, where's Knuckles?" Amy wondered.

" _Huuuuuurk!"_ came a noise from behind the bushes.

"Okay, guess he's alive. That's a relief," Charmy said.

Knuckles stood up from the bush, lazily walking towards the group. "Can- can we get a... _huurk..._ Can we get a round of applause for the heroes of the hour? Not enough to get married, they have to save all our lives on... _hic..._ top of that?"

Everyone started clapping. Except for Shadow, of course.

Vector and Espio looked embarrassed but smiled anyway, doing a mock bow for the audience.


	10. The Honeymoon

**AN: Hard to believe it's actually over... writing this collab has been a wild ride from start to finish, and I'm pleased with the result. A bit sad to end it, but that's inevitable. Look forward to more fics from TheHunterPersian and barely any more from me probably!**

* * *

 **AN: Heh heh, and with that from cosmictruffle out of the way, this is TheHunterPersian here. Yup, you're reading right, this is the last chapter of _A Joint Vow_. I have been working on this fic with him since last August, and I have not looked back. Doing this was one one of the funnest things I've done in terms of writing, and I'm so glad I could co write with an author who inspired me.**

 **Now, if you're sad that this is over, don't worry, ill still be uploading vecpio. As a matter of fact, my fic, _A Deal or No Deal_ , is still ongoing, so check that out!**

 **So finally, from me and Cosmictruffle, we hoped you enjoyed _A Joint Vow_ , and we hope you enjoy this final chapter...**

* * *

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. Late afternoon arrived and it was ultimately time for everyone to leave.

Vanilla, Cream, Cheese, and Chocola walked up to the Chaotix. "So, about the tables, should we keep them there, or?" the adult rabbit asked.

"Nah, dun worry 'bout it, Ms. Vanilla. I can get 'em tomorrow," Vector said.

"Well, that's that. I really did enjoy our time here, from baking the cake to attending your wedding… despite what happened towards the end…"

"Yes, I know…" Espio said. "We'll have to be doing a lot of cleaning up tomorrow…"

"If you want, we can help you with that, won't we, Cream?"

The young rabbit and her Chao nodded. "Yes, mommy,"

"Hey, then that's great to hear!" Vector exclaimed, giving a thumbs up.

"Anyway, Cream and I will be going back home for now. We hope that you two are eternally happy in your new life of marriage, Vector and Espio."

"Thank you, Vanilla. It means a lot to us," the chameleon said, smiling.

"Trust me, me 'n Espio are already plannin' to have our honeymoon. Just gotta start savin' up…" Vector said as he stretched. "After what happened today, I think we need to stray away from the chaos of everythin' fer a week."

"Why of course, I don't blame you. It's quite understandable." Vanilla smiled. "Still, may you three have an amazing rest of the day!"

"Goodbye Mr. Vector and Espio! And Charmy?" Cream said.

The bee turned to look at her.

"See you soon…"

Charmy smiled. Even with Cream seeming annoyed by him during the wedding, she couldn't hold her mini grudge for too long. The two Chao waved as the rabbits headed on back home.

Team Sonic walked up to the Chaotix, Sonic's arm over Knuckles' neck as the echidna looked like he was starting to sober up a bit.

"Yo guys, great wedding! Sure, Eggman had to come and I got blown up, but hey, seeing you guys be happy, makes me happy." Sonic said.

Knuckles hiccupped. "Y-Yeah, what Sonic –hic- said…" The red echidna lazily said.

"Is… he gunna be okay?" Charmy asked.

"I wouldn't worry about him, Charmy," Tails said. "I'll take him back to Angel Island and make sure he sleeps off his drunken state. Who knows how bad his hangover is going to be when he wakes up tomorrow."

Vector laughed. "Yeah, and then we get to make fun o' him fer it while he rapidly denies it!"

Everyone, including Knuckles (who didn't know what was going on), chuckled. The two tailed fox looked back up at the crocodile.

"By the way, Vector… you still aren't mad about the backyard and about the whole Room-bot thing, are you?" he asked.

"Nah, I chilled about that, but what I said to ya back when yeh were picking up what was left of that thing, I sill rest mah point."

Tails awkwardly chuckled. "Nothing personal of course, and don't worry, I won't forget your rides to Little Planet are gunna be free for a bit. Who knows? When you want to get another moon flower for Espio or something, I'm always there."

The married reptilian couple looked at each other before laughing.

"Trust me, Espio's gunna get _all_ the moon flowers he can have," Vector joked.

"Dear…" The chameleon jokingly said, playfully hitting his husband's arm.

"Can I go along with you guys, too?" asked Charmy.

"Sure, why not?" responded Espio. "We can show you the sights of Little Planet, since you've never been there before!"

"Whoopee! I can't wait!"

Charmy buzzed around in the air as Sonic almost dropped his drunken friend, but managed to get him back up at the last second.

"Anyway, me and Tails should be headin' out now. This lug has to get his beauty sleep. See you guys around!"

"Same to ya, Sonic!"

"Oh, and E-Espio?" Knuckles said. "D-Don't let Vector go rough on ya tonight in bed, man… you know how those after-wedding rituals are…"

Sonic and Tails looked at their friend as they walked away, hitting both of his arms.

"KNUCKLES!" They both yelled. The echidna laughed uncontrollably as the married couple looked uncomfortable.

"Eh heh heh… yeah…" Vector commented.

"Vector? What did Knuckles mean by that?" asked Charmy.

Vector and Espio's eyes widened slightly.

"You'll learn when you're older, Charmy," said Espio quickly.

"Aw… just like everything else…" Charmy pouted.

Amy then walked up to them.

"You know, even with everything happening today, your wedding was the loveliest thing ever!" she said. Vector and Espio grinned.

"Heh, thank you, Amy, it means a lot." said the fuchsia reptile.

"Hey hey, show me your rings! I didn't get to see them all that close when Charmy brought them over during the ceremony!"

The two reptiles looked at each other before holding out their hands, showing their wedding rings to the pink hedgehog. Amy's eyes almost glittered as she brought her hands up to her mouth.

"Oh… my goodness! These are so pretty! Look at the gems on them!"

It wasn't for about a few seconds until Amy realized the significance of the peridot on Espio's ring, and the amethyst on Vector's ring. She gasped.

"You know, it's funny… I remember back when you two weren't together, when I invited you guys for lunch, Espio confessing to me about your relationship, Vector… I see this now and I realize… you two truly love each other, and you were made for each other too!"

The ninja blushed. "A-Amy… I don't know what to say…"

Amy hugged Espio, then Vector. "When I'm older and hopefully married to Sonic, I hope to have a relationship like yours," she smiled.

"Hey! Don't I get a hug?" Charmy whined.

"Okay, Charmy, you can get a hug too."

Amy hugged the bee child, who smiled in response (Charmy was always known as someone who loved hugs).

"I'll see you guys around! Oh, and when you guys go on your honeymoon, bring me back photos! Okay?"

"Gotcha!" responded Vector.

Big came up to the Chaotix, holding Froggy. "Thank you for inviting me and Froggy over. We had a good time."

"Eh heh… thanks, Big," said Vector.

"You and Amy were talking about something called a honeymoon. I'm not sure what it is but I can invite you guys to fish if that's good enough for your honeymoon."

Vector and Espio looked at each other. They weren't sure how to respond to Big's offer. When did a married couple celebrate their honeymoon going fishing with a mutual friend?

"Err… no thank you, Big, me and Vector are fine…" said Espio.

"Oh… okay then… I'll be heading home now. I'm sure Froggy's tired."

The frog gave an almost tired sounding croak as he slept in the large purple cat's hand.

"Yeah, he's sleepy. I'll put him straight to bed when I get home."

He stared at the Chaotix. "I'll see you guys soon."

Big walked off as Vector, Espio, and Charmy looked on.

"There he goes, oh so majestic, Big the Cat. How we hardly knew yee," Charmy said.

"Been practicin' drama or somethin', Charmy?" asked Vector. The bee stuck his tongue out at his crocodilian parent.

Finally, Team Dark came up to the three. Shadow looked at them before calmly saying.

"This wedding was… a bit enjoyable, to say the least. Even if I was dragged here…"

He turned to face the red robot.

"Come on, Omega, we're leaving."

" _Affirmative."_

Omega walked past the Chaotix without saying a word. However, the two turned around when they saw Rouge wasn't with them.

"Rouge? Aren't you coming along?" questioned Shadow. The bat was against the wall of the Chaotix Detective Agency.

"I'm coming, I just have one bout of fair business left," replied Rouge. "Go on without me, I'll catch up."

The two Team Dark members looked at each other before walking off. Vector and Espio walked to where Rouge was.

"Err, Rouge? Is there something you'd like to say?" asked the chameleon.

"As a matter of fact, yes, there is,"

Rouge looked at the two reptiles before speaking. "I may have said that this was the least lackadaisical wedding ever and that I haven't been to many weddings, but… CHAOS… this was by far, the _CHEAPEST_ and most low-brow wedding I've been to."

The two reptiles recoiled. They didn't know that Rouge felt that way about their wedding.

"I mean… wow, I knew you guys weren't the richest people in the world, but _SURELY_ your wedding could be of much higher quality. I mean a non-proper outdoor wedding? Only the girls were dressed up? I could go on and on about everything wrong about this wedding…"

Vector growled. "Rouge… doncha think yer takin' this a bit too far?"

The white bat looked at the crocodile before back to the ground. "Perhaps you're right. This is YOUR wedding after all, but I was simply willing to critique it."

"You know, I heard you two talking about a honeymoon and how you were planning to save up money for one. With a wedding like this, I highly doubt you'll even find a halfway decent honeymoon. But, that doesn't mean miracles can't happen."

Rouge reached into her pocket, and pulled out two stacks of bills, tossing it to Vector.

"Here, Chaos forbid your honeymoon be as underwhelming as your wedding reception," she said. The two reptiles were incredibly stunned.

"R-Rouge! Where didja get all this?!" questioned Vector.

"Not only that, why are _you_ of all people willing to give this much money away? This is far too generous!" added Espio.

Rouge pulled out a lollipop from her pocket, unwrapped it and began to suck on it.

"When you're a treasure hunter and a thief, you know how to get good money. And here you both are, feel free to spend it wherever you both want to go for your honeymoon."

The bat turned around. "Good day," she said, before walking off to catch up with her team.

The two reptiles were absolutely dumbfounded; they simply stood there, looking at the large amounts of money in Vector's hands. Espio looked up at his husband.

"Rouge is right… we can go anywhere we want with all this money…" he said. The crocodile looked at Espio.

"We'll think 'bout where to go when we head back inside, alrighty?"

Espio smiled, and nodded.

Charmy buzzed up to the two.

"Hey guys! Uhh, where'd you get all this money?" he asked.

"Rouge gave it to us, said it was for our honeymoon," replied Espio.

"Your honeymoon?"

"Yeah, y'see Charmy, when married couples well, get married, they take a small vacation to enjoy their new marriage, and enjoy each other's company. That's what a honeymoon is." explained Vector.

"Oh wow! And we can go anywhere we want!"

"Err… yes, about that Charmy… honeymoons are only between the couple…" Espio said.

"So… that means?"

"Yeah… ya can't come with us… we're sorry…" Vector rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh… come on!" Charmy whined. "And here I was thinking that you guys were gunna start being my parents now… no, instead you're gunna be gone for some time while I'll be alone…"

The bee began to softly cry. Vector sighed; he never liked it when the bee cried.

"Look, Charmy, yer not gunna be alone. Obviously, someone's gunna take care of ya while we're gone."

The bee didn't listen. He kept his arms crossed as he was turned away from the two.

"Charmy, don't cry, okay? If you want, when we return, we'll take you somewhere nice. Does that sound good to you?" asked Espio, putting his hand on his son's shoulder. Charmy turned around, eyes turning slightly red.

"You… you mean it?" replied the young Chaotix member.

"Cross my heart. It'll be our first family day together." Espio smiled.

Charmy wiped his eyes as he looked happier now. "That sounds great… and yeah, it will be our first family day together… with me… and my two dads…"

Vector smiled and put Charmy on his shoulders. "Ha ha, ya betcha yer gunna be with yer two dads now!"

The crocodile walked towards the house, continuing to give Charmy a piggyback ride. Espio simply watched from a few feet away and chuckled, following behind them.

" _Chaos… I never realized how good of a parent Vector could be, and how cute he looks too… Espio, you picked a fine person to marry…"_ the chameleon thought, smiling. He looked around the backyard one last time before shutting the door behind him.

* * *

 **LATER THAT EVENING**

The backyard of the Chaotix Detective Agency was completely desolate, save for the ruins of everything destroyed during the wedding.

Since the three Chaotix members were inside, not one of them heard the sounds of footsteps hitting the grass.

A nose sniffed around as it looked left and right, emerging from the side of the house.

"Hey there guys!" said the figure, a black armadillo with a red shell, identified as Mighty the Armadillo, an old friend of the Chaotix. He held a present in his hand as he walked into the backyard.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to drop off Ray at a babysitter's, not to mention, I had NO idea where you guy's house was, so I've been searching all day. But hey, here I am, so let's not delay the weddi-"

Mighty stopped and looked around the backyard. He took notice of the ruined trees, scorch marks and food all over the ground, a table flipped upside down and beat up, and that just the tip of the iceberg.

The armadillo was processing everything as he looked left and right.

"Did… did I miss anything?"

* * *

 **AND THAT VERY SAME NIGHT**

Vector stretched as he closed the door to his and the chameleon's room behind him. Espio was already in bed, reading a book.

"Man, what a day, lemme tell ya…" said the large green reptile. He flopped onto the bed, turned himself around, and got under the covers.

"Agreed, it was eventful indeed." replied his new husband. Vector got right next to Espio and laid his head on his significant other's head.

Espio took Vector's hand into his own, rubbing the ring on his ring finger.

"Hard to believe we got married, huh?" he asked.

Vector nodded. "Yup, sometimes I look back on when I proposed, and I remember; 'I did that'." He kissed Espio's forehead.

"When we told our vows, Vector, I wasn't lying when I said I couldn't wait to spend the rest of my life with you,"

"Likewise, I can't either."

Vector sighed happily as the two stayed silent.

"So, about the money we have, where do you wish to go for our honeymoon?" asked Espio.

"Hmm… y'know, never thought about that all that well… I guess Emerald Coast. Ahh… someplace warm, water everywhere, it's a perfect vacation and honeymoon sight, lemme tell ya."

"Interesting, that doesn't seem like a bad place to be. As for me, do you remember one adventure Sonic had that he told us where he travelled the world while becoming at night a… Werehog he called it?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I remember,"

"When he showed us the photos he took with that small red friend of his, there was one location from there that fascinated me as soon as I saw it. Chun-Nan I believe it was called…"

"Oh, that place! I always knew ya wanted go there. To be perfectly real with ya, I was actually planning on takin' all o' us there fer yer birthday, so I guess that works out. Hell, I'll also be honest and say that if I had failed to propose to ya at Little Planet, then I wouldda done it there,"

"Well, we all know the result of that," Espio smiled. "Back on Chun-Nan however, I know it probably interests me more because it's cultural, but I think you'll like it too. So, can we?"

Vector placed his finger on his lips before happily nodding. "Yeh, that can be where our honeymoon is!"

Espio smiled. "That's good to hear… I can't wait…"

"Neither can I… no worryin' 'bout bills or Dr. Eggman fer a whole week… paradise if ya tell me…" Vector placed his hands on his buff chest.

"Agreed, I don't want any aging scales now."

The two laughed and cuddled one another.

"But, before we can worry 'bout our honeymoon, we gots some things to take care of," said the crocodile.

"Oh, packing?" replied his husband.

"Well, THAT too, but I meant other things. Like, we really gotta fix up the backyard before we leave."

"Oh… yes, I definitely agree. We can take care of the stuff that's easy to throw away and clean up, but for the grass, we'll definitely need to call someone."

"Yeah, and well, not only that… Charmy too."

"Charmy? Is this also about the honeymoon?"

"Well, Ms. Vanilla can take care of him fer the week; I know she will but… when I was playin' with Charmy earlier, I realized that this was our son, and… we need to protect him."

"I agree, but… what are you trying to say?"

"I'm sayin' that well, once we're done with the backyard tomorrow, let's head out to Station Square and to the adoption agency there. We should pick up the papers that basically says Charmy's our kid… even if he ain't biological."

Espio nodded his head. "Oh… I see, yes, we should do that. We may already have guardian rights, but we should update that to parental rights…" He then smiled. "Heh, can you imagine the face he'll make when he finds out?"

"Yeah, heck, he's been buggin' me 'bout this event comin' up at his school, this 'Parent Day'?"

"Oh yes, he has mentioned it to me. He told me it's when all the parents of the kids accompany them for a day of school. He really wants us to be there with him."

"Heh, can ya imagine everyone else with mom and dads, meanwhile, Charmy's the one with two dads?"

"Oh, the little angel… he'll probably get to brag to all his friends about his two dads. Hopefully he won't get bullied because of it…"

"Nah, I wouldn't worry. If any of them said anythin' 'bout him, I ain't afraid to break their jaw, even if they are kids. Besides, we all know that we love each other more than the two parents of the other kids love each other."

Espio chuckled as Vector took his face, kissing it softly.

"Oh, you and your sense of humor, how I love it…" he said.

Vector huffed. "Well, I'll be here to use it more, don'tcha worry,"

The ninja chuckled. "So, our plans for tomorrow are to clean up what we can in the backyard, head on over to the adoption agency to get the papers involving Charmy and his status as our son, and not to mention, we should start on finding ways to travel for our honeymoon… a very busy day tomorrow…"

"Yeah, ya can say that again,"

"We probably should start getting to bed now…"

However, before Espio could go to sleep, Vector put his strong arms around Espio's waist.

"Oh?"

"Nah, Espio, let's… let's stay up some more, it's just the two of us alone in this room… Charmy asleep…" Vector explained.

The fuchsia reptile looked surprised at first, but then smirked. "Oh… you wish to get intimate…"

Vector rolled over, hovering over Espio. The chameleon blushed as he looked at his husband's strong frame.

"Is this what Knuckles meant when he said to not go rough on me?"

"Hell yeah, and man it feels so good to finally cuss without Vanilla breathin' down yer neck,"

Espio chuckled, and kissed Vector, then rubbed his chest.

"If that's the case then…"

"Then?"

"Show me that you truly love me…"

Vector's eyelids lowers as his smirk grew. "Don't worry, I will…"

He put his finger on his husband's lips, then his lips.

And then, he lifted Espio's legs.

* * *

 **THREE WEEKS LATER**

With everything taken care of, the backyard restored to its former glory, all the paperwork involving Charmy's legality signed (meaning as of now, he was officially their son), and a plane ticket to Chun-Nan, plus hotel bought, it was safe to say Vector and Espio were ready to have their honeymoon.

"You boys be safe, okay?" Vanilla called out.

"Yeah! What Vanilla said!" Charmy exclaimed. "And bring me back all kinds of neat stuff too!"

"Don't worry, Charmy, we will," replied Espio, rubbing his son's head.

Shadow simply looked at the laughing individuals before turning away and groaning internally.

" _Not only was I dragged to their wedding, but now I have to babysit some brat, all because he looks up to me or some crap like that… damn, I have better things to do…"_ The black hedgehog thought.

Vector and Espio gripped their luggage. "Well, we should be headin' out now! It's time that me and Espio enjoy paradise, while at the same time, enjoyin' each other. See ya guys!"

"Good bye!" said Espio. The two reptiles exited out from the Chaotix Detective Agency and headed off to the taxi by the front of the house.

"Bye!" called out Charmy and Vanilla. Vector and Espio waved once more before getting into the car, and being driven away to the airport.

As they watched the taxi drive off, Vanilla picked up the sign left by Vector and hung it on the door. He requested that she put it up until he and his husband got back. It read;

" _Notice!_

 _The Chaotix Detective Agency is currently not available for service, as two of its members are presently spending their honeymoon._

 _If you have a case you'd like us to solve, please call us at our number, or leave us mail, and we'll get to you when the Chaotix are available._

 _We're sorry for the inconvenience!"_

Closing the door behind her, Vanilla looked at Charmy.

"You can go play in your room for the time being, Charmy, or down here. It doesn't matter. I'll get started on lunch," Vanilla said.

"Okay, Ms. Vanilla!"

The bee buzzed to his room as Vanilla turned around.

"Shadow? Aren't you tired of standing up like that? You should sit down and relax," she asked.

"I'm good," Shadow replied.

"Well… okay…"

As Vanilla walked to the kitchen, she noticed a sheet of paper by one of the tables.

"That's strange… what's this doing here? I don't remember this being here…"

As she picked it up, she noticed a symbol of lips that were blue; meaning someone with blue lipstick kissed this paper.

"And there's only one person I know who would do such a thing…"

Now, Shadow had walked over upon hearing the adult rabbit. He took a look at the paper and immediately recognized it.

"Oh, that's Rouge's. It looks like she left it here by mistake during the wedding," he said.

"But it's strange… it feels like a… receipt…"

"A receipt?"

Vanilla turned it around to confirm that it was. Shadow then looked over to read the contents along with her, but what the two found shocked them.

On the receipt, it talked about artifacts of Angel Island, and their… price?

"No… she wouldn't have…" Vanilla said.

All the money in total was the EXACT amount Vector and Espio had.

Moving the receipt down, she could read the price of everything, which also contained next to it: _"Bought with stolen money"_ , most likely from the service that bought the stolen Angel Island artifacts.

Shaking her head, Vanilla moved the receipt to the bottom, and almost dropped it when she read what was at the bottom.

"MOBIUS BLACK MARKET" it read.

Vanilla and Shadow looked at each other, worry in their eyes. Even Shadow found the situation conflicting, for not just his teammate and friend, but also for Vector and Espio.

"This is… going to be a rather interesting story for Vector and Espio…" Vanilla said.

 **FIN**


End file.
